Chapter 106 42. The Great Terror
“Mr. Fisher, who is this?”
Elizabeth looked towards Fisher, seemingly inquiring simply about the identity of the newcomer. Fisher glanced at the undoubtedly restless Renee, his mind flashing through many reasonable explanations, but he said nothing.
He thought that he might have had the courage to speak before kissing that beautiful lady this morning.
He sighed and was about to move a bit closer to Renee, intending to introduce her to Elizabeth, when he realized that Elizabeth was tightly gripping his arm, preventing him from moving a step toward Renee.
Renee keenly caught Elizabeth’s subtle movement and looked at her with a dangerous blink before approaching Fisher, introducing herself to Elizabeth.
“Allow me to introduce myself, I am Renee, an honorary professor at the Cardu Theological Academy, and a friend of Fisher. I came today to visit his school upon his invitation.”
She shot a glance at Elizabeth, then smiled even more brightly.
“I have heard Fisher speak of you, a distinguished friend, and have long wished to pay my respects to Your Highness since our time at the Holy Church. Today’s meeting certainly confirms your elegance.”
The specific information contained in these two sentences was as follows:
I am a colleague of Fisher’s from the academic world that he met years ago at Cardu. Being at the Holy Church also means my status is quite noble, no less than that of your Nali princess, but I am very humble, not spoiled like you.
Today Fisher invited me to participate in the event as his female companion. I don’t know why my male companion was taken away by you, but I am neither angry nor anxious, though I must remind you to hurry and return my male companion.
Fisher’s peripheral vision caught a glance of Renee, and he saw that her usual teasing demeanor and mischievous smile had vanished completely, leaving only an earnest humility and purity. At that moment, she truly resembled the most innocent saint within the Cardu Theological Church.
Veins appeared on Elizabeth’s forehead, but she still didn’t release Fisher’s arm; she simply smiled and said, “Not at all, the historical and cultural grace of Cardu is indeed impressive. In comparison, Nali falls short.”
Princess Elizabeth implied, I am indeed a barbarian, and what can you do about it?
I simply lack the civility to take your male companion; if you have the capability, take him back!
In this exchange, both sides remained very “polite,” but even Jasmine, who was least skilled in reading the atmosphere, began to sense something was wrong.
Isabel looked somewhat flustered between the two parties but didn’t know how to interrupt to stop it; Lady Laura silently downgraded Fisher’s evaluation but didn’t speak, appearing indifferent; Jasmine didn’t understand anything and merely watched Fisher, recalling her encounter with him earlier in front of the swimming pool.
Only Milica smiled sinisterly, secretly wishing for the two to start fighting quickly, hoping that both sides would lose because she felt neither was suitable for Teacher Fisher.
How could Fisher allow the two to continue arguing like this? He gently held Elizabeth’s hand, pulling her away from his arm and positioning himself between the two ladies, continuing from Renee’s words.
“Your Highness, this is the scholar Renee whom I met during my travels in Cardu. She is very knowledgeable about magic and quite interested in the customs of Nali. I specifically invited her to participate in the event today, but I didn’t expect Your Highness to also be here.”
Renee secretly glanced at Fisher’s back, her heartbeat quickening for a second, but she maintained her composed appearance.
“Oh, then it seems I have come at an inconvenient time.”
Elizabeth removed her hat, and at that moment, the pressure fell on Fisher. An invisible and terrifying aura unconsciously caused all unrelated individuals around to disperse, fearing to be caught in the aftermath here. Even Isabel bit her lip, clearly unaccustomed to this side of her sister.
But Fisher’s expression remained unchanged; he stared directly at Elizabeth before him.
“I dare not, Your Highness’s intentions are naturally the priority, and I have never wavered in this regard. Since Your Highness has doubts about this, it is indeed now the poetry event; I shall use a poem as compensation to Your Highness.”
“Yes, yes, it is indeed a poetry event now, sister, could you also give me a poem?”
Elizabeth paused for two to three seconds, looking at Fisher’s expression, then smiled gently, making the earlier pressure disappear without a trace. She smiled and touched Isabel’s hand, but her gaze shifted towards Renee.
“Then, Mr. Fisher, let me see the poem you prepared for me. Since Lady Laura is here, you cannot simply goof around.”
“Rest assured, Fisher is quite talented; the poetry he sent me earlier, I still keep it to this day.”
Unfortunately, at such times, Renee fanned the flames again. Her simple statement once more cooled the atmosphere, and she went even further by moving to Fisher’s side, speaking in a tone as if they were “family,” suggesting that Fisher had experienced the “Godlin Festival” multiple times with her.
Fisher turned to look at Renee, but she didn’t glance his way at all, instead hammering Elizabeth with all her might, fully unleashing her intensity.
Originally, it was because Fisher was mediating that Elizabeth didn’t continue to argue with this lady, following Fisher’s lead, but she truly didn’t expect this lady to be so persistent, deliberately opposing her.
Well then, since that is the case, no one should back down!
“Alright, let me see it then. But I must remind you, Mr. Fisher, this is poetry presented in the Godlin Festival, and its quality cannot be compared with that presented to other unimportant people, so don’t let me down.”
On the term “unimportant people,” she chewed carefully, clearly implying that Renee was not on the same level as herself.
The tension between these two ladies had reached a notably obvious level. If it were any other lady, she might evade due to Elizabeth’s status, but only Renee was an exception.
Her appearances were like shadows, and even Fisher had to admit finding Renee was purely accidental. Outside of the confrontation, Elizabeth had no other means to threaten Renee unless she called the royal fleet to bomb Fisher’s rental apartment into a big pit.
Fisher had initially planned to casually recite a poem, but since Elizabeth had spoken, he could not be negligent. After a moment of hesitation, he recited a poem praising gold.
“‘Up the river, seeking light in the dark; the sun and moon gradually drift away, captured by darkness alone; where are you, warmth? Where are you, light? It turns out it is you, the dust-covered gold; it turns out it is you, the buried gold.’”
In Nali’s literary works, gold generally represents the royal family, namely the Godlin Family.
Elizabeth did not respond but first looked at Lady Laura beside her, smiling as she asked, “Lady Laura, how is this poem?”
Lady Laura was slightly stunned, and after carefully tasting Fisher’s poem, she said, “This poem is not any conventional work; it must be an impromptu creation by Mr. Fisher. Though the phrasing may be somewhat thin, the theme is quite clear, making it a commendable work.”
Lady Laura’s evaluation was very fair; it had little emotional tone, essentially a smooth maneuver that offended neither side. You could say she praised it, or you could say she criticized it; anyway, this evaluation was beyond reproach, indicating that Lady Laura was well-versed in the principles of moderation.
However, Lady Laura was somewhat puzzled; after all, how could he dare to say Elizabeth was dust-covered and buried gold? Wasn’t that courting death?
But since Fisher and Princess Elizabeth’s relationship was not ordinary, she didn’t need to touch upon that sticky point, so Lady Laura wisely refrained from mentioning the imagery described by Fisher in her evaluation.
After hearing this, Elizabeth smiled slightly and turned to Fisher, praising him, “I quite like this poem; I shall accept your compensation. It seems, as that lady said, Mr. Fisher is quite talented. In return, I should also present you with a poem.”
“‘I am but a cloud, under the vast and blue sky, shielding you from the sun; you are the traveler, desiring that lover in the shadow, just beckoning me to come down.’”
Elizabeth quietly cradled her hat, her golden hair bringing a breath of summer, sending the beautiful lines of poetry to the gentleman before her, startling the nearby young ladies with their astonished gazes at Elizabeth.
Milica puffed her cheeks, and Isabel glanced at Fisher, her face somewhat flushed.
Jasmine was looking at the cake on the platter held by the attendant.
Fisher also opened his mouth, slowly storing that verse in his heart, and he said, “Thank you, Your Highness, for the poem.”
Seeing the situation deteriorating, Renee immediately walked to Fisher’s side, elegantly touching her red lips with her fingers, seemingly lost in thought.
“Oh dear, what poem shall I give you? A poem for Fisher must be well-considered.”
Clearly, she was also going to present a poem to Fisher.
Fisher looked at the saint-like Renee beside him, momentarily perplexed, unable to comprehend that this girl would write poetry, as he believed Renee was only skilled at teasing others, while having little to offer otherwise.
“‘The river flows from the ocean to your doorstep, leaves grow from the ground to the treetops, hounds journey from death to birth; our bond, oh, flows from you to me.’”
A short poem flowed into his heart, like a soulful song, as she gazed at him.
Her beautiful purple eyes seemed like enticing wine, and before Fisher could taste it, he felt somewhat tipsy. At that moment, with her close, he caught the familiar scent that was almost palpable, alluring him to take her delicate hand.
This girl, she could actually write such things?
Elizabeth looked at the smiling Renee, unable to suppress her anger. She smiled faintly and slowly walked in front of Renee and Fisher, as if she were a mountain separating them.
She first turned to Renee, praising, “I didn’t expect Lady Renee to be such a skilled poet; the literary talents of Cardu indeed set themselves apart.”
Renee very devoutly made a praying gesture, responding to Elizabeth’s praise, “Your Highness overpraises; it is all the blessing of the Mother.”
“Then…”
Elizabeth suddenly seemed to remember something. She “tenderly” turned her head to Fisher, casually asking, “Mr. Fisher, which poem do you think is better, mine or Lady Renee’s?”
(End of this chapter)
