Axel Ashworth nodded, "I think so too. After all, the Princess of Alani is an Alani native. If one day Westria goes to war with Alani..."
Kaleb Newman asked, "King of Nine Peaks, this time you are collaborating with the Princess of Alani. Do you know what exactly she wants?" This content belongs to NoveI[F]ire.net
Axel Ashworth shook his head, "The Princess has never told me. She simply wants to ally with me first. I have a feeling what she desires should be in the royal family, and it is related to the secret that vanished back then from the ancient kingdom of Alani. By the way, as the chief, are you familiar with the ancient kingdom of Alani over the forty years of your reign?"
"The ancient kingdom of Alani has been gone for a hundred years, so I’m not familiar with it, but..." Kaleb Newman hesitated.
Kaleb Newman lowered his voice, "I once inadvertently saw a mysterious scroll in the palace, which records the origins of our State of Westria and the ancient kingdom of Alani."
"Chief Newman, please continue."
"Our State of Westria and the ancient kingdom of Alani have deep connections. Back then, the founder of our country and the ancestor of the ancient kingdom were a couple. The ancestor of Alani was a legendary woman who not only had astonishing medical skills but was also a natural... wolf trainer, commanding an iron cavalry of wolves that struck fear into hearts."
Axel Ashworth, who commanded the Nine Peaks, the foremost general of Westria, perked up upon hearing the "iron cavalry of wolves," realizing that the legend of the "wolf trainer" was indeed true and originated from the ancient kingdom of Alani.
Kaleb Newman continued, "The ancestor of Alani and our ancestor were a couple. So back then, the ancestor of Alani used the iron cavalry of wolves to help expand territories for our ancestor, and the two founded the State of Westria together. Originally, our ancestor should have made the ancestor of Alani his queen, but something happened between them, and our ancestor betrayed the ancestor of Alani. Angered, the ancestor of Alani created her own kingdom with The Serpent River as the boundary, thus founding the ancient kingdom of Alani."
"Legend has it that the ancestor of Alani had a three-petaled flower on her forehead, which seemed natural and extremely vivid—it’s said to be... the Empress Flower."
"The Empress Flower?" Axel Ashworth murmured, repeating the three words.
Kaleb Newman nodded, "Yes, the Empress Flower. It’s said that not every queen of the ancient kingdom had one. To my knowledge, the first to possess the Empress Flower was the ancestor of Alani, and the second is... Princess Serena Sterling!"
"Chief Newman, you seem to have quite a fear of this Empress Flower." Axel Ashworth looked at Kaleb Newman.
Kaleb Newman nodded, "Indeed, the scroll I saw back then was missing many pages, so I didn’t see the whole story, but I did see the ending."
"The ending was that before the ancestor of Alani died, she left a prophecy with her own blood as a curse. She prophesied that a hundred years later, Alani would have a second king. At that time, either Westria or Alani would face extinction."
This ending contained two crucial pieces of information. First, Alani would have a second king—note, not a queen, but a king.
Second, Westria and Alani would inevitably face a war—a life-and-death blood war.
Axel Ashworth recalled the wandering monk from years ago, who once said that when the Emperor Star and the Empress Star appeared simultaneously, the world would welcome a dual-king era.
If the King of Alani is Serena Sterling, then who would be from Westria?
Kaleb Newman looked at Axel Ashworth, "King of Nine Peaks, in fact, you have the most power to pursue the throne, but why have you remained neutral all this time?"
Axel Ashworth showed no emotion, "Because I’ve been waiting."
"Waiting for the person who genuinely possesses the blood of an innocent—a true ruler of our State of Westria."
Kaleb Newman nodded in satisfaction. He had indeed judged this correctly. All these years, Axel Ashworth wielded great power, but he never intended to seize the throne. He was simply waiting for the one who truly possessed the blood of innocence, who would be the ruler of Westria and his lord.
"All these years, I’ve been secretly searching for that baby girl born at the same time as my father, who was my father’s sister, but unfortunately, all clues were cut off back then, and until now I haven’t found any trace."
As he spoke, Axel Ashworth looked at the chess game he had just played with Serena Sterling. Serena’s moves were calculated, and she had formed an encirclement, winning this game.
"Chief Newman, if I’m not mistaken, the missing pages of that scroll might account for the unending war between Westria and Alani. Our two countries are destined for a mortal battle, and this Princess is no ordinary person. If we can’t find the rightful ruler with innocent blood, then Westria is in great peril."
Kaleb Newman pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Recently, I’ve met someone—the maid who sent the baby girl away back then."
"What? Where is that maid now?" Axel Ashworth asked immediately.
"The maid’s life hasn’t been good. I heard she went to the City of Aethelgard and became a hostess at a bar. Later, she hooked up with a wealthy man and became his mistress, but the wealthy man’s original wife was formidable and completely ruined the maid. The maid is now gravely ill, but fortunately, she bore a daughter for the wealthy man, who’s very filial and has been taking care of the maid."
Axel Ashworth quickly stood up, "Where is that daughter now? If I’m guessing correctly, the daughter isn’t the wealthy man’s illegitimate child but the baby girl from back then, the Grand Princess of our State of Westria!"
"I heard the daughter flowed to the City of Aethelgard. To earn money to care for the maid, she became the blood asset and shadow for the wealthy man’s legitimate daughter. Later, she caught the eye of a powerful man in the City of Aethelgard, but this romance didn’t end well. The daughter ultimately jumped into the river from a tall platform, disappearing without a trace."
Axel Ashworth murmured this place name in his heart. It turns out that the baby girl from back then ended up in the City of Aethelgard, where her story unfolded.
"Chief Newman, is the daughter dead?"
Kaleb Newman shook his head, "I don’t know about that. However, the maid is currently in my custody, and she’s critically ill, with only a couple of days left to live. If the daughter is still alive, she will surely come to see the maid one last time. We just need to wait!"
Axel Ashworth slapped the table and stood up, "Good!"
Serena Sterling completed Kaleb Newman’s tasks, and now she was about to set out to find... her mom and Aunt Yara.
This time, her mom and Aunt Yara arrived in Westria earlier than planned because Aunt Yara’s birth mother is critically ill and won’t last these next two days.