Chapter 382: Bonus – The First Encounter with Elizabeth
The story begins like this:
Elizabeth is studying at the Military Institute of the Royal Academy, where most of the students are noble children of Nali, with very few commoners or students from the business class. People say that the Military Institute of the Royal Academy has an invisible admission threshold, as the nobles are unwilling to relinquish their most important military power, and even the most basic right to education is not something they are willing to give up.
This reason is clearly incorrect, or at best incomplete; while the nobles may be unwilling to compromise, under the pressure of the increasingly powerful Parliament and the two parties, the Royal Academy, being the stronghold of the Griffin Party, certainly does not exclusively favor the old-fashioned feudal aristocrats.
The real reason lies in the fact that studying at the Military Institute is very demanding and the tuition fees are quite high, comparable to those of the Magic Academy, and higher than those of regular business or science colleges by more than double.
Of course, Princess Elizabeth does not need to worry about the expensive tuition fees; what she is truly concerned about are the academic challenges. There is a lot of theory to learn about leading troops, and the expectations placed on royalty are incredibly high.
Perhaps she previously complained a bit, but now she doesn’t, as without these academic challenges, she might not have met that boy.
She remembers it was an afternoon before the midterm exams in the first semester of her freshman year. Among the bustling crowd at the Royal Academy, there were always those who kept quiet, and troubled by her thesis, Elizabeth was one of them.
“In modern warfare, magic is an essential consideration. As excellent commanders, you must not only know how to utilize magic in warfare, but also have a solid understanding of all its principles and costs. For this week’s assignment, you are to write a paper of 2,500 words on the use of magic in modern warfare, due next weekend. At least fifteen citations are required, strictly following the [Heilson Citation Format Example]… That’s all, class dismissed!”
In the classroom, the professor’s unquestionable voice echoed, completely ignoring the distressed students below before leaving the classroom.
Even with the perfect smile of an Eldest Princess, Elizabeth found it difficult to maintain her composure under such strict demands. She endured all day until the afternoon tea party with the noble ladies, where she couldn’t help but voice her grievances to her sisters,
“I shouldn’t have chosen this course; we haven’t even finished learning basic military management. Moreover, I have to face four exams next week; how can I possibly finish… I know nearly nothing about magic, it seems I have no choice but to withdraw from the course…”
“Ah, it’s rare to hear Princess Elizabeth speak with such lack of confidence.”
Among her many noble sisters, an older girl who was studying in the third year of the Liberal Arts School smiled at the youngest sitting in the center, Elizabeth, and after a moment’s hesitation, suggested a “possible helper”,
“But don’t worry too much, I actually have a helper… I have a cousin who just came to Saint Nali to study as well. His name is Trandal, and he is currently attending the business school. He didn’t want to live with us, so he rented a room in the city and shares it with a student from the Magic Academy.”
At this point, that older sister casually began to introduce her family connections while gradually leading into the main topic,
“His roommate is quite remarkable; he ranked first in this year’s Magic Academy entrance exam, and as a freshman, he is taking a full course load plus three elective courses. I heard the professor of the magic class plans to let him complete all the content during this midterm; he requested it himself…”
“I heard from Trandal that this boy comes from a poor background. You can write to him and ask for his help; he will definitely assist you.”
Before she could finish her words, the other sisters nearby burst into laughter, covering their mouths mockingly,
“Let’s skip that suggestion; asking Princess Elizabeth to write to a poor student for help with academic papers? Wouldn’t that be too embarrassing if it got out? Or are you trying to make Elizabeth seem like a commoner?”
“N-no, how could I dare?”
The sister who suggested that turned pale, hastily laughing awkwardly as she explained.
Well, perhaps she hadn’t thought it through; it might not matter for other noble children, but Princess Elizabeth certainly could not do that…
Elizabeth also understood that she meant no harm and did not pursue the matter further, instead calmly deflecting the conversation by asking,
“I will consider it. What’s his name?”
“Ah, Fisher! Fisher Benavides, that’s his name; Trandal mentioned it many times, so I remember…”
Elizabeth smiled, but everyone knew that she would never write to inquire about academic papers, after all, her identity as the Eldest Princess stood in the way.
“Alright then, let’s stop the complaints here. I’m going to pray at the church now. Farewell, ladies.”
“Goodbye, Your Highness.”
The Mother God Church is the state religion of Nali, or in other words, all countries on the Western Continent are deeply influenced by the Mother God Church, although the churches in different countries are not alike.
To demonstrate the royal family’s closeness to the church, Elizabeth’s outwardly gentle persona makes it best for her to also adopt the identity of a “devout believer of the Mother God,” which makes her seem more approachable and likable to the public.
However, deep down, Elizabeth might question what the purpose of this is.
The princess of Nali could never inherit the throne; what difference does it make if the public loves her?
The answer lies in her potential as a political asset, specifically for marriage alliances.
Someday in the future, when her father needs to support a reliable noble or other force, perhaps a rising star of the Griffin Party, or someone from the New Party’s Exploration Company, to gain public support, he might marry her off to establish closer ties with them.
Elizabeth understands this is her best fate.
She might have some grievances deep down, but she also understands the royal family’s difficulties and her father’s burdens, acknowledging the difficulty of change. Perhaps she has somewhat resigned herself to this reality, playing the gentle and friendly Eldest Princess until the day she marries a stranger and spends the rest of her life with him.
That day, she took a carriage to the largest church in Saint Nali to pray.
In front of the spacious prayer hall, just like in thousands of other churches, stood a kind and benevolent statue of the Mother God, quietly watching over the crowd below who came to pray.
Inside the church, the bishop’s resounding voice recited the blessings. The devout worshippers sat on wooden benches, quietly closing their eyes, adopting the standard prayer pose, feeling the call of the seemingly void Mother God.
Many people had already gotten used to seeing the Eldest Princess at this time; even the bishop greeted her. It was only when she sat down, ready to begin her prayer, that she suddenly noticed another quiet worshipper at the other end of the bench she was sitting on.
He was a quiet and handsome young man, his short black hair and the distinctive facial features of a Nali person signifying his mixed heritage of Cardu and Nali. What truly attracted Elizabeth’s attention was the royal academy uniform he was wearing.
Yes, the Royal Academy indeed has uniforms, but aside from scholars from research institutes, no one usually wears them; most people are in casual clothes.
However, the representative of the new school of thought, the Royal Academy, should scarcely have any devout believers of the Mother God, especially not someone wearing such a conspicuous royal academy uniform.
Elizabeth glanced at the young man, whose eyes were closed in a reasonably standard prayer pose, and could not help but suspect that the person before her was in fact a social climber.
He might know she comes here to pray weekly, and so prides himself on his good looks, purposely donning his school uniform to come here and pretend to pray, looking to make connections with the Eldest Princess…
One cannot blame Elizabeth for being self-important, as she had encountered too many such people.
She originally could have ignored him, but perhaps because of the thoughts on her “persona” while seated in the carriage, she suddenly pointed out his prayer pose rather unkindly and reminded him,
“The fingers while praying to the Mother God should be fully crossed; your prayer pose is incorrect.”
However, the handsome gentleman, who looked quite appealing even from the side, ignored her. It took him several seconds to realize someone was speaking to him.
He turned his rather stern face to glance at Elizabeth, then casually shifted his gaze away, retorting dismissively,
“I’m not praying to the Mother God, so my pose is correct. Besides, I’m not a believer of the Mother God, Your Highness.”
Elizabeth was momentarily taken aback. She looked at the young man’s fingers and noticed that he had bent his middle finger without crossing it, and in doctrine, the longest finger represents the Mother God.
He is praying for someone else.
“You’re not a believer of the Mother God yet you come to pray in church?”
“And you are not a believer of the Mother God, so why are you here?”
Elizabeth’s pupils slightly constricted, unsure how he saw through her facade. She wanted to press further, but saw him raise a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
This man…
Elizabeth disregarded his gesture to be silent and whispered further,
“How did you know?”
The young man glanced at her with a hint of exasperation and began to explain helplessly,
“A truly devout believer would be very focused even with closed eyes during prayer, but when you closed your eyes, you were just dazed; that at least isn’t considered devout, is it?”
“You were just watching me?”
Elizabeth didn’t pursue the matter further but suddenly smiled slightly. The golden beauty of the Godlin face instantly radiated an unfathomable charm, causing the young man before her, who seemed a bit slow to react, to blink in surprise and reply,
“You are a princess, of course, you attract a lot of attention; I am no exception.”
“Oh…”
They didn’t continue to converse. Both lowered their heads to pray, though neither seemed particularly devout.
The young boy was clearly praying earnestly for someone, yet his pose was not standard; her own pose appeared flawless, yet her heart held no devotion.
With her eyes closed, Elizabeth suddenly felt curious whether this handsome young man was stealing glances at her while she was praying.
“The Mother God says, be devout, be kind, be selfless…”
The bishop’s instructions turned into gospel. Elizabeth quietly opened her eyes, her head involuntarily turning towards him – it seemed like for the first time, disregarding her persona to do something like this. Despite knowing that such “indevout” actions wouldn’t reflect well if it got out, for reasons unbeknownst to her, Elizabeth felt certain he would not speak of it.
They seemed to share an inexplicable tacit understanding, even though this was just their first meeting, just like at this very moment.
As Elizabeth discreetly glanced at the man beside her, he happened to open his eyes at the same moment. Both instinctively looked towards each other, thus witnessing the action of the other turning their head…
There was no need for Elizabeth to avoid him; she merely opened her mouth to look at him, and the young man before her looked back with an air of equality, although he retreated slightly under the gaze of her sparkling golden eyes.
“.”
Neither of them engaged in any more conversation; they were simply both surprised by the similarity of their motions.
To avoid making things awkward for each other, Elizabeth for him, and the young man for overstepping and offending the princess, it seemed they both wanted to rise and leave at the same time, since the prayer seemed to have concluded, and thus they both stood up simultaneously.
Watching their movements align again, Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile, which made the young Nali gentleman, who had a scholarly aura and was exceedingly reserved, feel increasingly awkward. Elizabeth then took the initiative to play the “gentleman” and said,
“Please, after you.”
“Thank you.”
He accepted without hesitation, standing up to approach the bishop and handing an envelope to him. Elizabeth recognized it; it was a [Death Notice], typically written by the living for deceased relatives. Handing it to the bishop signifies that he has a relative who is a devout believer of the Mother God and is buried in the church, resting eternally beneath the Mother God’s seat.
After the bishop nodded kindly, Elizabeth and the young gentleman silently made a tacit agreement not to look at each other again until he left the church through the main entrance.
Sensing the departure of the young gentleman from her school, Elizabeth sat in silence for a moment before moving towards the bishop, chatting with him for a short while, expressing her reverence for the Mother God and how the Mother God has guided her life, not forgetting to donate some money like a truly devout believer.
No one could discern the true thoughts of this “perfect believer of the Mother God,” except for the young gentleman from earlier.
Was he being deliberate, trying to take advantage of the royal family?
But that peculiar tacit understanding couldn’t allow Elizabeth to think that way.
She followed behind the bishop, engaging in conversation while watching as he took the previously handed death notice to a stone wall at the back of the church. Each stone was inscribed with names, containing the ashes of devout followers of the Mother God, and the bishop was responsible for burning the notices sent by families to ensure their loved ones’ sentiments reached the divine realm of the Mother God.
At the corner of the stone wall, the bishop waved the envelope in front of one stone and quietly said,
“O messenger of the Mother God, your earthly kin expresses sincere longing for you. May you rest peacefully in the realm of the Mother God.”
Elizabeth’s golden eyes looked over and saw the simple inscription on that stone,
“Thank you for giving the lonely me a home, even if you have gone, I am once again alone; you will forever be my family.”
“In memory of: Teresa Benavides, a great and devout nun.”
“Fisher Benavides.”
As Elizabeth gazed at the words on that small tombstone, the word “family” seemed to shine, causing ripples to surge in her golden eyes.
She took a deep breath, looking back apprehensively at the church that no longer contained the figure of the young gentleman; but a second later, as if recalling something, she suddenly turned around to look at the name on the tombstone.
“Fisher Benavides?”
“What did you say, Your Highness?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Thank you for your guidance, Bishop. I shall take my leave now.”
“Please go ahead, Your Highness.”
Elizabeth smiled perfectly, but her steps unconsciously quickened, leaving the place with an air of lightness.
(End of chapter)
