The Players and the Protagonist Want to Kill Me – Chapter 563

Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)

Heilna and the maids didn’t notice the fear in the princess’s eyes. They thought the princess was feeling shy about it. Heilna even teased her wantonly, “That King of Winter has never been defeated on the battlefield. Finally, you will be the one to ride above the King of Winter! You are a great Conqueror!”

Her words drew ambiguous giggles from the maids. But Jessica couldn’t find anything amusing. She only felt sorrow for her fate. Afterward, Heilna taught her many ways to please men. However, Jessica’s mind was in turmoil. She felt Heilna was like a noisy, disgusting duck, quacking incessantly. She didn’t pay much attention to the methods for pleasing men.

The bath was over. The maids helped Jessica out of the wooden tub. They dried her body with silk scarves made of penguin down. Then, they applied lavender-scented oil to her forehead, neck, wrists, armpits, and private parts. The cold air made the princess shiver. The maids immediately helped her put on her undergarments. This undergarment was made by Medon’s most famous tailor, using mulberry silk from Northern Territory frost silkworms. The material was delicate, feeling silky smooth against her skin and being very breathable and warm. Before this, Jessica had only worn ordinary linen undergarments. The rough fabric often chafed her skin, causing pain.

Next, the maids helped Jessica put on a snow-white, fringed princess dress. Her semi-dry, platinum-blond hair was let down her back, revealing a sweet and tender aura, but lacking a noble presence. So, the maids adorned her with pure gold earrings embedded with sapphires, jade bracelets that flowed like water, and a silver princess tiara dotted with star stones. Finally, there were three black leather straps with platinum-colored bells, one on each ankle and one around her neck.

“Your Highness, you are so beautiful!” Heilna exclaimed, looking at Jessica, who was now fully dressed. For a moment, she suddenly felt that it might have been deliberate for the five princes to drive Jessica into the lighthouse. Otherwise, with Jessica’s beauty, how could she not have attracted the attention of the former Medon King? She might even have become Queen. After all, in the Medon royal family, the ethical boundaries between father and daughter were not strictly enforced, ensuring the absolute purity of the royal bloodline.

The maids brought over a mirror. Jessica looked at herself in the mirror. Just a slight movement of her feet and neck caused the bells to jingle. She felt less like a princess and more like a pet cat about to be given as a gift to please a master. “You shouldn’t be living in this cold, damp lighthouse,” Heilna said, taking Jessica’s hand and gently pushing open the room’s door. The howling north wind rushed into the room, bringing fresh, crisp air. Jessica saw a luxurious carriage parked below the lighthouse. In front of it, several black, tall horses exhaled pale steam in the cold morning air. That was the carriage coming to pick her up.

Inside the carriage, Howard scrutinized his sister sitting before him. The way he looked at her, like he was appraising merchandise, made Jessica’s skin crawl. “You look much more refined,” he said, taking a sip of red wine and praising her with a smile. But then he uttered words that made Jessica tremble, “If I weren’t planning to offer you to the King of Winter, I would have given you a chance to become my Queen.” He reached out and gently ran his hand through Jessica’s hair, which was as lustrous as molten silver. With just that small gesture, Jessica flinched like a startled rabbit. Howard disregarded her reaction and turned to Heilna, asking, “The King of Winter will like her, right?”

“Of course!” Heilna nodded confidently. “If the King of Winter doesn’t even fancy such a beauty, I’d suspect something is wrong with him, or perhaps he has peculiar preferences. The most crucial point is that she is young, about four or five years younger than the King of Winter. Men like that.” “I hope so,” Howard nodded. He clapped his hands lightly to signal the coachman to start. They were heading back to the Medon Royal Palace, where he had prepared a luxurious residence for his sister, though she might not live there for many days. “You will thank me, my sister.” Howard raised his wine glass and laughed heartily. He loved to drink, and every time he got drunk, he would beat his unfavored sister. This was one of his favorite pastimes during his youth.

“The King of Winter is a powerful man. With his help, I can not only resolve the threat posed by the two Grand Dukes but also lead the Medon Empire to develop and expand, even annexing the Karari Empire. And beyond that…” Howard didn’t continue. Some thoughts were too whimsical. He could only indulge in such fantasies in his dreams. Jessica remained silent, lowering her head, listening to her brother outline his future. She could hear the pride and ambition in his words. However, she didn’t believe a man as terrifying as a frost giant would even spare her reckless brother a glance. Not only her, but her brother would also become a sacrifice. She had such a premonition.

The King of Winter arrived on the morning of the third day. Apart from the core royal personnel, no one knew what the King of Winter looked like. The servants only knew that he rode a Pink Dragon and landed directly in the square of the Medon Royal Palace. Afterward, the dragon transformed into the appearance of a little girl, holding onto the corner of the King of Winter’s cloak and following him closely into the palace as if returning home. The King of Winter wore a dragon-horned helmet. His heavy armor was still stained with blood. His build was robust, and his presence was imposing. Even the best warhorses in the palace would tremble before him.

For these three days, Jessica hadn’t gone anywhere. She had stayed in a room temporarily assigned to her, receiving instruction from Heilna. Soon, she transformed from a clueless little girl into someone theoretically knowledgeable about matters between men and women. Although she hadn’t met the King of Winter yet, rumors about him had been circulating throughout the palace during these three days. Especially after hearing that the King of Winter had repelled the undead army, various rumors emerged, even escalating beyond the original stories. Some said the King of Winter had the blood of a frost giant, with a face like a drum skin and a mouth like a barrel. Others claimed the King of Winter had two heads and six arms, a powerful Two-Headed Giant with human thoughts. Each arm was proficient with a different weapon, and his two mouths could spew flames and frost, respectively. Otherwise, how could he withstand the attack of a legendary Ghost Dragon? Some said the King of Winter ate a calf for one meal and consumed human hearts and livers regularly to control the rampaging power within him. In short, none of the rumors bore any resemblance to a human. Jessica listened daily to the bizarre news relayed by the servants. She remained silent during the day, but when the night was deep and she was alone, she would lie in her covers and weep.