Chapter 656
What Makes People Strong Are Hope and Love
After Isabel offered her clear opinion, the Grand Judge, who had been quite insistent before, unexpectedly chose to comply.
Once everyone agreed, the matter was settled.
The issues of public opinion that might arise, as well as contingency plans for various emergencies, were all handed over to Grand Judge Arrius. He was instructed to return and discuss them with Mycroft to come up with several proposals.
After the Grand Guardian and the Grand Judge left, Lixia did not choose to leave with them.
She simply looked at Isabel with a sense of contentment. Although Lixia’s current childlike appearance made this gesture seem a bit awkward, it surprisingly didn’t feel out of place.
She smiled and hopped into Isabel’s embrace, gently stroking Isabel’s head.
“You’ve grown, little Isha.”
Lixia, like a small adult, gently caressed Isabel’s smooth, light golden long hair, brushing her forehead against Isabel’s. “You finally have a bit of a monarch’s demeanor now.”
Isabel lowered her head slightly and hugged Lixia’s waist in return.
Feeling Lixia’s dragon tail gently sweeping and tapping her legs, Isabel’s gaze turned nostalgic. “Yes…”
If it were a year ago… no, even just six months ago, she couldn’t have imagined growing to this extent.
She clearly remembered what she was like before she met Eivass.
—She hadn’t experienced any unforgettable tragedies, nor had she endured any heart-wrenching torment. Yet, in just a few months, she had grown to a level her past self wouldn’t have dared to imagine.
“…Perhaps, more than suffering, love and hope drive progress.”
Isabel said softly.
She was the person most qualified to say this—for she was accustomed to fleeing and enduring. If there had been any painful experiences that forced her to change, by the time she resolved to act, she would have already been battered and bruised, utterly exhausted.
“Not everyone is born strong, little Isha. Only steel can be reborn in fire, while even the hardest wood will only be burned to ashes.”
Lixia gently comforted her, like a grandmother, affectionately tilting her head and brushing her forehead against Isabel’s.
In a soft voice, as if telling a story to a child, she spoke of things she hadn’t shared with Isabel before. “But wood isn’t any less valuable than steel. There are always things that metal cannot do, but wood can.”
“…You’ve never told me something like this before.”
Isabel said, with a hint of complaint mixed with a touch of petulance.
Yet, Lixia’s voice, childlike and tender, sounded mature, steady, and kind. “Because you were too lost back then. A lost person cannot understand or remember such profound truths. Great truths are never for those who are lost; they only want to know how to navigate the next path.
“It’s precisely because you’ve grown that I’m telling you this. I’m just telling you why you’ve become so strong… so you know it wasn’t an accident, nor a miracle. I want to tell you… you are truly amazing, Isabel. You’ve come through, and you’ve become stronger.”
*I am truly amazing…*
Upon hearing this, Isabel’s eyes involuntarily filled with tears.
It wasn’t from being wronged, nor from sadness. It was an incomparably refreshing sense of release.
Like the clear autumn sky with white clouds. Spreading her arms to the sky and shouting loudly, as the scattered sun showers sprinkled coolly upon her.
Isabel quietly shed a few tears, but she neither sobbed nor wailed. She playfully lowered her head, wiping her tears on Lixia’s shoulder, then offered the elder a sweet and innocent smile.
She said with some nostalgia, “Actually, I just… went through a nightmare.
“In another possible development of the world, I saw Avalon disintegrate. A fake took my place, and Eivass and I could only flee overseas.
“The ‘Authority’ that people emphasized as indispensable could not protect anything in that level of chaos. Glass Island turned into an inferno, and knights slaughtered each other. No one could protect the people, just as no one could protect Avalon.
“So, I thought… ‘Authority’ is simply too fragile. It only has its irreplaceable value when everyone believes in it.
“But if someone truly falls into despair one day, reaching a point where they can only trust in ‘Authority,’ it fails to protect them.”
Isabel’s eyes were clear and bright, her tear-washed gaze as brilliant as polished emeralds.
“Only oneself can be trusted—only by making Avalon strong can various disasters be averted. And if Avalon is strong enough, what necessity is there to solely pursue the Path of Authority? If Avalon can only enforce the Path of Authority, how can it become strong?”
“…I see.”
Lixia nodded slightly, sighing. “So that’s how you understood it.”
“Of course,” Isabel added with a smile, “Eivass was the main reason.”
“That little fox?”
“Because I didn’t want to disappoint him, because I didn’t want to become a puppet, used to oppose him…”
Isabel said softly, looking down at her fingers.
They were slender and fair, well-suited for playing the piano. But such fragile hands held the great power to control an entire kingdom, even multiple kingdoms—with just a signature, they could change the fates of tens of thousands, even millions of people.
“…But this is not the reason I am so resolute today.”
Isabel spoke. “It’s merely ‘not wanting,’ it’s my ‘fear.’ But what truly made me strong was ‘hope.’
“—I hope that one day, Avalon will not suffer the disasters I encountered in my nightmare.
“—I hope that one day, the people of Avalon will be able to proudly say they are from Avalon, without being discriminated against, hated, or feared by people from other countries.
“—I hope that when people mention Eivass, they will call him Isabel’s partner; not call me Eivass’s wife.
“—I hope my grandmother can be proud of me, and I hope Avalon will start to get better from me, not worse.
“—I hope I can also protect Eivass, share his burdens, and become his shelter, not just a warm harbor, not a burden to him and a girl protected by him.
“I hope I can become a good monarch, a good wife, a good mother, a good artist. And, a very, very good person.”
The young queen’s eyes sparkled with light.
Lixia could feel Isabel’s fists slowly clenching. Her forearms tensed slightly, and she gradually sat up straighter.
“As a monarch, I should possess the magnanimity to embrace all my subjects. And as a good monarch, merely ‘following convention’ or ‘maintaining the status quo’ is far from enough—I will make decisions, and I will take responsibility.
“If the Silver Crown Dragon disagrees, I will do my utmost to persuade Her. If the people don’t understand because of it, I will make them understand me. If other countries intend to attack at this opportunity, I will never retreat.
“Avalon should welcome change—”
As Isabel said this, she involuntarily sat up straighter. Lixia also slipped from her and bumped into the desk.
On the corner of the desk, a vase wobbled, about to fall.
With a graceful backflip, Lixia leaped to the other side of the desk and deftly scooped up the vase before it hit the ground.
She cast her gaze toward the desktop.
The vase had seemed to be placed on a book with a slightly uneven cover, which was why it had tilted so easily from such a slight collision.
“‘Elf Diplomatic Etiquette’…”
Lixia murmured, picking up the book. “Is there something inside?”
Isabel didn’t react at first—until she saw the cover of the book Lixia was holding.
Her radiant aura immediately faltered.
“Huh… Huh? Wait, wait… that’s not allowed! You can’t look!”
But it was too late by the time Isabel reacted—as she spoke, Lixia had already pulled the book out.
She glanced at Isabel with a peculiar expression. Complying with Isabel’s command, she didn’t open the book, but simply placed it on the desk and gently pushed it back.
Isabel fumbled about as if electrocuted, but finding no place to put it, she blushing furiously threw it into a drawer.
“…How should I put this, Your Majesty? I don’t recommend using such a book to prop up a vase.”
Lixia coughed lightly and reminded her seriously, “Your grandmother—the former Queen—when faced with such a situation, would place the book in a hidden compartment beneath the desk.”
“…Huh?”
Isabel blinked, then searched the area beneath the desk but couldn’t find anything, so she looked up for help. “Where?”
Lixia skillfully walked over, twisted a ruby handle on the side of the desk, and lowered an empty folding shelf from beneath the Queen’s desk. “Here, do you see? If you twist it back, it will be hidden under the desk. You won’t see this book by touching under the desk or opening the drawers, because it’s on the side of the drawer. Remember not to put anything too heavy, but a few books should be fine.”
“How amazing!”
Isabel exclaimed. “Is this a secret compartment?”
“This is probably just a rather hidden shelf,” Lixia said casually.
She gave Isabel a smiling bow. “If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave—by the way, Your Majesty. You might want to have a Ritualist check your adaptability for the Path. I think you should now have adaptability for the Path of Authority.”
Isabel naturally trusted Lixia.
She was the person who had gone furthest on the Path of Authority in the entire world.
—How ironic.
As a monarch without adaptability for the Path of Authority, after finally gaining the ministers’ approval and intending to abolish the concept of ‘illegal paths,’ she suddenly gained adaptability for the Path of Authority…
“Even so, it will absolutely not shake my resolve.”
Isabel stated with certainty.
Lixia nodded with satisfaction. “That’s good.”
As she reached the doorway, she smiled and greeted the Queen’s Guard standing there. After opening the door, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned back and added, “Oh, Your Majesty. I’ve actually read that book—it’s quite… steamy.
“If you like that sort of thing, I have some rare editions not available on the market. I’ll bring them to you tonight.”
With that, Lixia quickly closed the door and left.
Leaving only the low laughter of the Queen’s Guards and Isabel, who covered her face and let out muffled whimpers.
(End of Chapter)
