klisemfg Chapter 570: The Past Reappears
Chapter 570: The Past Reappears
"You're here, great!"
It was already past the hottest time of the day, and after taking a shortcut and skillfully climbing over the academy wall, Lilith caught a glimpse of blue in the shadow of the flower wall. She wondered how long she had been sitting there.
"We all wanted to help Sister Ke Luo pack her luggage with you, but you ran away so fast that we didn't know where to find you. You just like to do things on your own, right?"
Lilith rolled her eyes in disgust. The guy's clothes were soaked with sweat and he looked exhausted. He didn't say a word in the face of Lilith's ridicule.
"Here!"
Lilith took out a stack of gold-stamped invitations with mighty dragon heads printed on them, took out two and stuffed them into Lucas's arms, saying cheerfully:
"Melissa is planning to host a small party at home tonight. Leila and I are inviting all our friends over. She wants to meet you. You can bring Sister Ke Luo along. Lulu, Ian, and the others are already there, so hurry up!"
Seeing that Lucas still didn't speak, but just looked down at the invitation Lilith stuffed in silence, Lilith thought for a moment and added:
"Melissa is a very good lady. Tanding County has accepted many sea people. She won't be prejudiced against you, don't worry."
"...What happened to Fred later?" Lucas finally spoke after a long silence, but he asked about his brother-in-law.
"Uh, I don't know."
Lilith had already continued walking forward, debating whether or not to invite the teachers. When she had just proposed this idea, everyone had screamed in rejection. While she was thinking, she casually responded:
"Why don't you ask Catherine at the dinner? She's the one who took care of Fred. Remember to thank her."
"Ah……"
Unexpectedly, Lucas sneered sarcastically behind her. Lilith's ears were sharp enough to accurately detect the movement. She circled her toes forward and turned back, looking at Lucas speechlessly.
"-What? Are you sick again?" This guy does this from time to time, and it's not the first time he has made sarcastic remarks to Catherine.
"Why should I thank her? Do you dare to say that the Mulete Kingdom's surprise attack had nothing to do with her?"
Lucas sneered and his face returned to that numb expression. "Her parents had an idea, and our whole family became refugees. Now she has a change of heart, and my sister's family is bankrupt."
Lilith turned around again, her tone no longer cheerful: "What do you want to say?"
Seeing her expression of facing a great enemy, Lucas felt even worse. He leaned against the flower wall behind him. The rose wall was dense and thorny, and the stinging feeling was similar to his mood.
"Woody? That's the name of your childhood friend, right?" Lucas said in a hoarse and low voice.
"Your friend, the Knight of Light, is a really nice guy. He secretly looked after me when I was taken to the dungeon. Where do you think he is now? Is he at the front? Do you think he'll die, Lilith?"
Lilith tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword upon hearing this. Her good mood for attending the banquet eventually faded away. She shook her head and said, "I don't know... I hope he's okay."
"I remember what we talked about before, right? If one day Catherine becomes a ruthless politician, will you still uphold justice in your heart? But look at you now, you clearly stand by her side unconditionally..."
"Of course I am." Lilith said suddenly, and Lucas's mumbling finally stopped.
"Of course I will stand by her side unconditionally." Lilith barely hesitated for a moment: "Because I don't want to be the bad guy, Lucas. No one wants to be the bad guy."
Lucas looked at Lilith for a long moment before muttering, "I don't understand..."
"I don't want that mad king to succeed and spread the war to the elves. I hope the crisis in Ozler can end as soon as possible. At the same time, I also want to be a good person. What can I do at a time like this?"
There was nothing they could do. The power of ordinary people was so limited. They were no different from Fred who was crushed by the powerful.
"But I know very well that I can always be a good person because there are people who do the dirty work in the front."
There are always people carrying heavy burdens forward in the darkness. When Lilith learned that the war had suddenly broken out in the south, she couldn't help but feel frightened when she recalled Catherine's farewell words. Even if she was the crown princess, once it was revealed that she was involved in this matter, she would most likely be hanged for treason.
But she still did it. The vanguard of the westward expedition was probably forced to turn around before they even saw the snow-capped mountains of the Western Highlands. No one could help but admire her decisiveness and efficiency.
"She didn't do it for you, but for her own ambition—"
"So?" Lilith quickly interrupted Lucas's rebuttal.
"I stand here cleanly, enjoying the peace bought by her ambition, and then turn around and judge her for stirring up war. Is that morally flawed? I can't do it." Lilith said flatly.
Lucas pursed his lips until they turned pale. This was the first time Lilith scolded him so harshly and directly, all for Catherine.
"Catherine took on the responsibility of being the chess player and paid the price of getting her hands dirty. If this is the only way to end this disaster, then at least I can't throw stones at her from behind when someone else is taking the lead.
Yes, I stand by her side unconditionally, not because she is always right, but because I know that if it were me, I wouldn't have the same determination and courage to be the 'bad guy' as her.
She took one last look at Lucas, who was dejected in the shadows, and sighed, "If your sister refuses to leave with you, it's not Catherine's fault."
Seeing Lucas's babbling and collapsed appearance, Lilith had already guessed what was going on.
Lucas was hit by what was said and turned his head away in embarrassment.
"Why she would rather be with Fred, I don't understand..." Lucas felt as if his throat was blocked.
"I don't know, but she is an independent person and you should respect her choice."
"Even Fred?"
"Actually, as a businessman, I don't think Mr. Fred should be blamed. Business is a game of supply and demand. Wouldn't you sell umbrellas at a high price after predicting when it would rain? He wasn't defeated by the market; he was simply defeated by an unfair law."
Lilith leaned forward and spoke earnestly, "Then who do you think, among all the people you know, could possibly change the existing laws?"
The answer is self-explanatory.
"You have a good rest. I will ask Catherine for you." The dinner was about to start at eight o'clock. Lilith still had half of the invitations to send out. She couldn't waste any more time. This time she left decisively, leaving Lucas under the flower wall.
The sun was still scorching, and not many people were willing to stay outdoors at this moment. So when Lilith walked into the shade of the trees, someone walked alongside her openly and hummed an unfamiliar song.
"I'm sorry that you can't attend the dinner tonight. Leila has a bad impression of elves now. You were there that night in Tanding County, and I don't want to make her unhappy." Lilith said apologetically.
"But the smoked venison at Dragon's Tooth Castle is very famous. I'll save some for you."
Her childlike words made the male elf beside her laugh. Aryan nodded happily and quietly enjoyed the warm moment with the Mother Goddess.
"...You seem to be in a good mood." Lilith glanced at the handsome elf beside her. It seemed that her argument with Lucas had not affected him at all.
"It's hard not to, Miss Lilith~" Lilith didn't allow him to call her those childish names all day long, so Aryan happily accepted calling her by her name.
"This reminds me of a thousand years ago." The corners of the elf's lips curled up, and it was obvious that he was really happy.
"—It's like the old days all over again."