Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 579 An upcoming conversation?

Rorona pushed her wheelchair along the corridor, followed by the Queen's personal knight, the serious and stern "Wolf Rider" Katins. On the left side of the open corridor was the courtyard, where clusters of brilliant ice crystal flowers bloomed in the swirling sea water. The petals of each flower were like fragments of stars in the sky, flashing with faint phantom light - finally allowing Rorona to regain the mood she had six years ago when she lived in this palace.

The mirror elves living at the bottom of the sea seldom have the opportunity to see the stars in the night sky. Lorena is an outlier among them. When she was young, she would secretly float to the surface and gaze at the stars in the night sky. She saw Colchicum and Day Angel echoing in the trade wind on cool summer nights. When she grew up, she came to human cities, and through the narrow sky of the alleys and the gaps blocked by the silver pine branches, she gazed at a dim and lonely Milky Way, and felt the low rhythm of the Poet and Lyre in the cold winter nights.

But for some reason, the latter never gave her as strong a feeling as the former. Perhaps it was because when she came to the city of Rothdana, the sky of this city had been polluted beyond recognition. The galaxy that once amazed foreign travelers had now turned into a lonely afterglow in the sky, lost in the depths of dark clouds. Or perhaps it was because, when she was alone in the human city gazing at the stars, there was always someone missing by her side. Although she was her sister, she knew nothing about astrology and liked to pull her sleeve and ask her about the name of a star in the sky or the trajectory of their movement.

Thinking of her sister, the corners of Lorena's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly. Katins behind her didn't notice this. He was still telling the Second Princess, whom he had watched grow up, about the big and small things that had happened in the city of Nereids in recent days. The small things were nothing more than which minister had done something wrong and was reprimanded by Her Majesty the Queen, or which girl did not follow the family's expectations of marriage but married her childhood sweetheart... and so on. He knew that Princess Lorena was very interested in this kind of thing, but not as a joke, she just simply liked to listen to other people telling her stories.

As for the major events, there are two. One is the visit of guests from the earth, which has been widely circulated in the city of Nereids in recent days. After all, the deep-sea races rarely have the opportunity to come into contact with people on the earth.

"Currently, the guests on the ground are temporarily staying in the Lanhu Palace, and are being received by Her Highness Galene. If you are interested, you can go and ask her." Katins, who is always serious, only softens his tone and expression a little when facing Lorena, no longer like a cold ice cube that keeps people away.

This is something that everyone knows. As the most trusted subject of Her Majesty the Queen, Catings has served as the teacher of the two princesses, teaching them martial arts and knowledge of war. However, Catings, who always gives people the impression of fairness, has a clear difference in his attitude towards the two princesses. He is particularly harsh and strict to the eldest princess, Galene, but very tolerant and gentle to the second princess, Lorena.

But in fact, these two completely opposite attitudes reflect the same fact, that is, he has very deep feelings for both of his students, but he has high expectations for the former, believing that she has great potential and may be able to inherit the experience and lessons he has learned from his many years of fighting career, so he is so strict; but for the latter, he feels very pitiful and regretful.

If there was no curse...

Every time he saw the girl's weak yet strong back, Katins couldn't help but think so, and he still thought so now. He was sure that if there was no curse, Her Highness Rorona would definitely be the most outstanding genius in the history of the Mirror Elves. After all, she had such a magical talent, inherited an eye from Crystal Snow, and her heart was as warm and kind as the warm current in summer, and as pure and flawless as crystal in winter. She was simply a perfect character model.

Unfortunately, fate will never allow every story to be so perfect and flawless.

He sighed softly in his heart, feeling pity for the child's ill-fated fate, and regretful that she had amazing talent but was trapped by a curse. Such feelings should not be told to outsiders, let alone the girl in front of him - although Katins believed that with a delicate mind like her, she might have already seen clearly the thoughts of everyone around her.

"I will find a time to have a good chat with my sister. I am really interested in those guests on the ground. Besides, I also met their companions in Lotdana City, the three friends who came back with me before. If it is not a coincidence, I am afraid that it is the Crystal Snow that guides our meeting." Rolena smiled lightly and said, "What is the other thing, Lord Katins?"

Katins said: "Regarding the church's united efforts to rectify the situation in the city of Rothdana, Her Majesty the Queen foresees that a new storm may soon appear. In order to escape from the storm in time, Nereides needs to prepare early. In recent days, she and Lord Sandro have been busy with this matter. Rumors of all sizes have also emerged in the city, but they have all been dealt with in a timely manner."

In fact, this is the most important thing, and it is also what Rorona, the second princess, should really care about. No matter how long she has been away from Nereids City, she is still a child of the Neerid royal family and has a good reputation among the people for a long time. At this time when rumors are spreading frequently and people are unsettled, she needs to stand up and appeal to and maintain the rationality of the people with the image and sense of mission of the Princess of the Sea. It's just that Katins is worried that she will have other ideas after hearing this news, so he didn't mention it until now.

"I see. Actually, I may know what the reorganization of the united cult is all about. I returned to Nereids this time to report it to my mother. However, you just mentioned that you want to get Nereids out of this storm, which makes me a little doubtful." Rolena frowned her thin and long eyebrows like the moon: "How can mother and Lord Sandro have such an idea? As long as Nereids is still in the Mirror of the Azure Sea, it is impossible to completely get out of the storm. We should be prepared to deal with it instead of just running away. Or is mother planning to repeat the plan ten years ago? I am afraid that the united cult will not fall into the same trap twice?" When mentioning the incident ten years ago, Rolena's eyes flashed with a very complicated emotion, but she was sitting in a wheelchair with her back to Katins, so the latter did not notice it. He just hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "But if Nereids was not in the Mirror of the Azure Sea, perhaps there would not be the concerns you mentioned, Your Highness."

Lorena's wheelchair suddenly stopped.

But was it because she was too shocked to hear the news, or because she had arrived at her destination—the door leading to Her Majesty the Queen's study was right in front of her.

"I understand, Master Katins." She was silent for a moment, then turned around and gave her teacher a proper smile: "Next, please let me go to see Mother alone. Also, I'll have to trouble you to take care of my sister. I'm worried that her personality will neglect the guests on the ground. Can you please remind her one or two words for me? I think, although she is not willing to listen to me, as a teacher, you will always have a way to make her obedient, right?"

Katins had a complicated expression, and wanted to ask her, when you said this, did you consider that I was also your teacher? But then he thought about it, and the conversation that followed was between mother and daughter. As a subject, he really had no position and no right to comment, so he reluctantly agreed and turned away.

Lorena quietly watched his back as he walked away and gradually disappeared in the corridor, knowing that he would definitely pass the message to his sister, although she herself had some doubts as to whether this was right or wrong. Did he really believe that his sister could help him, or was he just giving himself a false sense of security?

She couldn't explain it clearly, but one thing was certain.

"I really miss you and want to see you, dear sister."

"I hope you can come soon."

She closed her eyes and whispered in a low voice, her tone full of expectation, as if she was sure that these two words could reach her sister's ears across the long distance. When the whispers gradually dissipated in the surging sea water, the sea-dwelling princess slowly opened her eyes, looked directly at the closed door in front of her, exhaled gently, and raised her hand to knock on it -

dong dong.

The knock on the door echoed under the dome of the corridor, between the magnificent columns, and in the fleeting and ghostly light of the ice crystal flowers blooming in the courtyard, shining like a meteor.

The same plot, different moods, and unpredictable future are being played out.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)