Chapter 16: Memories
King Philip, at the head of the table, was already quite drunk. Seeing his wife enter the hall, he beckoned her over.
“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t drink so much.” Cleopatra said reproachfully. “It’s not good for your liver.”
“It’s fine.” Philip waved his hand with a smile. “Even Dionysus would be extra forgiving at a banquet celebrating victory in war.”
(Dionysus: The god of wine in ancient Siris mythology.)
Peggy was still secretly eating her crème brûlée when a Macedonian noble came up to chat, wine glass in hand.
However, Prince Alexander, with a gloomy face, stared at the head of the table without saying a word. To ease the awkwardness, the Macedonian noble could only turn to Peggy and strike up a conversation.
“I heard that Miss Andrea is from Athens? I also studied at the University of Athens, but my major was rhetoric and film studies. What does Miss Andrea think of the work ‘Troy’?”
Peggy put down her fork and smiled at him.
“Uh.” The Macedonian noble immediately felt that this was a subtle mockery. After all, Macedonia’s cultural level was far inferior to Siris’, and it was natural that the other party didn’t bother to discuss art with him.
“I think this work…” He continued, forcing himself to talk about his understanding of film and art.
Peggy continued to smile.
Under her polite smile, the Macedonian noble finally retreated in shame.
Peggy continued to eat her crème brûlée.
Suddenly, Alexander stood up angrily, instantly attracting the attention of the entire hall.
“What did you just say, Your Majesty?” He asked through gritted teeth.
King Philip, drunk, subconsciously replied in bewilderment, “What’s wrong? I told your stepmother to take care of her health, after all, she’s carrying the heir to the Macedonian kingdom…”
“He’s your heir, then what am I? A bastard? You despicable scoundrel!” Alexander flew into a rage, grabbed the wine glass in front of him, and threw it.
The wine glass hit King Philip’s nose directly. With a clang, the King’s nose immediately swelled up, and two streams of blood flowed down, scaring all the nobles and officials below into standing up.
“You unfilial son!” Having a wine glass thrown at him in public, King Philip also flew into a rage and grabbed the iron bowl next to him, throwing it forcefully.
Alexander drew his sword and deflected it.
King Philip also drew the sword of the guard next to him, intending to kill Alexander, but he tripped over the chair under his feet. Thanks to the quick reaction of the guards, he barely managed to avoid falling to the ground.
“Look!” Alexander mocked him loudly. “A king who’s preparing to sweep across the East can’t even step over a chair!”
King Philip, furious, could only throw the sword in his hand, which was once again accurately deflected by Alexander.
The clang of metal startled Peggy, who was still eating her crème brûlée.
She looked up blankly, looking at the tense Alexander and King Philip, and seemed to realize something.
Then, she grabbed Alexander’s arm and dragged him outside without a word.
Alexander, after all, was a Transcendental of the Arcane Sequence. All his supernatural power was added to his mental strength, and his physical strength was not even as good as Peggy’s. He was immediately dragged out of the palace by her.
The incident happened so suddenly that the nobles and officials present didn’t react at all, just staring at each other blankly. Even the guards at the door didn’t have time to stop them.
Only King Philip, still bleeding from his nose, was left panting and gritting his teeth, supported by his concubine Cleopatra.
…
“If I hadn’t pulled you out, you would have died in the palace!”
Under the night sky, Peggy complained as she drove, “I haven’t even finished my crème brûlée!”
Alexander’s handsome face was livid as he sat in the passenger seat, silent.
“Drive more steadily.” After a long silence, looking at the swerving road ahead, he finally couldn’t help but say, “Can you straighten the steering wheel?”
“No!” Peggy said, “I’ve only learned driving from Nuo for a short time, it’s already good enough that I can start the car, okay?”
Alexander was speechless.
“Actually, you shouldn’t have pulled me away.” After another long silence, Alexander said coldly, “I wanted to see if he, the King of Macedonia, would really attack his own son in public.”
“If he really attacked, you would be dead.” Peggy said.
“He wouldn’t dare.” Alexander said coldly.
Looking at the dim darkness enveloped by the night, scenes of past conflicts with his father reappeared in his mind, and a long-suppressed resentment coiled around his heart like a snake.
“Actually, he might dare!” Alexander squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, his voice trembling almost beyond recognition. “If this continues, I will be forced into a corner sooner or later, I must strike first…”
“You want to assassinate your father?” Peggy asked him.
“I won’t do it myself.” Alexander said, his face gloomy, staring straight ahead. “Of course, if something unexpected happened to him, then it’s hard to say…”
“I don’t think you’re suited for this kind of thing.” Peggy said.
“Why?” Alexander narrowed his eyes.
“Because of your personality.” Peggy said.
She gripped the steering wheel and looked ahead. “It’s obvious that you’re a very proud person. After all, you’re of noble birth and talented, so you have the capital to be proud.”
“I guess you’ve never encountered any setbacks since you were young, right? So when you encounter this kind of setback, your thinking immediately goes to extremes.”
“Think about it carefully. Because of a drunken remark from your father, you didn’t hesitate to turn against him on the spot, what does this mean?”
“It means you’re afraid, afraid that he will really strip you of your position as heir.”
“In fact, with your current prestige in the army and among the nobles, if he really wanted to change his heir, how could he say it so easily on the spot?”
“You’re right.” Alexander was stunned for a long time and suddenly realized, “Even if he wanted to test me, he wouldn’t do it in front of so many people.”
“Exactly.” Peggy shrugged. “See, having murderous intentions because of a single sentence is an extremely reckless act.”
“If you really put it into action, with your personality, you will definitely regret it later.”
“Indeed.” Alexander nodded. “I should go back to Epirus first, that’s my mother’s family’s territory.”
“Even if he really intends to attack me, I can calmly organize my forces to counterattack.”
“Otherwise, if it was really just a drunken remark, but I reacted so strongly, wouldn’t that prove that I’m afraid of him?”
“You are afraid of him.” Peggy retorted.
“No, I’m not afraid of him.” Alexander said firmly, his face radiating confidence again. “Listen, Peggy.”
“I, Alexander, will become a greater king than my father.”
“He conquered Siris, I will conquer the vast lands of the East.”
“If he conquers the East first, then I will conquer the whole world!”
“Becoming the King of Macedonia is just a small step in my life, it’s not worth worrying about too much.”
“And you, Miss Peggy.” He turned his head and stared at Peggy intently.
“Would you be willing to become the future Queen of Macedonia?”
“No.” Peggy said.
“Hmm…” Alexander was a little embarrassed and turned to look out the window.
“Is it because of that Asker?” After a long silence, he asked softly.
“Yes.” Peggy replied without hesitation.
“Why?” Alexander asked.
“The reason you like me is just because I pulled you out of the mud with a few words when you were in despair.” Peggy tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
“And he did the same thing.”
Alexander looked at her quietly.
“Okay.” Alexander sighed bitterly. “He’s a lucky guy.”
“It’s the lucky ones like you and me who are saved before falling into the abyss.” Peggy said.
“You’re right, I like you more and more.” Alexander shook his head. “It’s a pity.”
“Don’t feel pity, you’ll always find a better woman.” Peggy said. “Well, I’m not good at comforting people.”
Silence fell in the car for a moment.
“It seems I have to find another way to thank you.” Alexander said seriously. “Alexander never owes anyone a favor.”
“Help me find Asker, and I’ll consider the favor repaid.” Peggy said.
Alexander was silent for a moment, his voice suddenly becoming low and magnetic:
“No need to look, when you leave my memory, you will naturally see him.”
The scene outside suddenly froze, as if the whole world had come to a standstill. Peggy stepped on the accelerator in surprise, but found that the car wasn’t moving forward at all, as if stuck in some thick glue.
“To be honest, I’ve repeated this memory countless times.” Alexander’s pupils dilated as if he was looking into the infinite distance. “Every time, I ask myself, did I really have to do it?”
“Actually, when he later sent someone to Epirus to reconcile with me, I already sensed something was wrong. However, the assassination order had already been issued, and I didn’t want to admit that I was just impulsive, so I could only convince myself that this was a necessary choice for self-preservation.”
“Now it seems that I was just deceiving myself.”
“It seems that even the greatest kings cannot avoid all shortcomings. I have made a mistake, at least I cannot lose the courage to face it.”
“Thank you, Miss Peggy. Thank you for sharing your life and experiences with a dead man wandering in the sea of the subconscious, and helping him finally understand his own heart.”
“As a thank you, I will give you my ‘Phantom Sword.’ Since Hannibal died at the hands of the Solomons, this supernatural sword technique has been lost in the main world. This is not its destiny.”
He stretched out a finger and touched Peggy’s forehead. Her mind buzzed, and she felt something added to her memory.
“That… you…” Peggy hesitated. “Who are you exactly…?”
“Aren’t you quite clever, Miss Peggy?” Alexander smiled. “Still don’t understand who I am?”
“Go.” He whispered. “Let me finally rest in peace.”
Suddenly, in Peggy’s vision, the entire scene shattered like glass.
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