Chapter 141: The Grand Prince’s Cuckolding
To be honest, that scene looked a bit strange.
After all, Anthea was so petite. Patting the head of Anastasia, who was much taller than her, felt a bit like a child trying to act like an adult.
Moreover, Anastasia was the princess of the Ice Duchy, a person of noble status.
But Anastasia didn’t feel offended at all. On the contrary, she even felt very comfortable. Although Anthea’s small hand was cold, she felt warmth.
And the smile that appeared on Anthea’s face was something Qin Chu had never seen before.
“What’s your name?” Anthea tilted her head and asked.
“Anastasia Maysfield.”
Anthea repeated the name softly several times, then withdrew her hand and seemed lost in thought. She didn’t say anything more and, under everyone’s surprised gazes, walked towards Qin Chu and entered his body.
This scene startled all five of them.
“Sir, what was that about…?” Anastasia couldn’t help but ask cautiously.
Qin Chu just put a finger to his lips and smiled at Anastasia, “Miss Anastasia, can you keep this a secret for me?”
Since Anthea didn’t say anything more, Qin Chu wouldn’t stir up trouble.
Anastasia was shocked and puzzled, but she still nodded obediently. After all, it was Qin Chu and that petite lady who had saved her, and they seemed to be centered around Qin Chu, so she naturally wouldn’t refuse his request.
Her gaze shifted to behind Qin Chu, and an astonishingly tall woman immediately caught her attention.
Anastasia wasn’t just a princess who needed protection. She also possessed decent strength and was a skilled mage. It was just that she had exhausted her Mana too early in the previous battle, but her perception was still there, and she could sense that this was a very powerful being.
On the other hand, Ekaterina’s unique attire, crimson hair, and crimson armor made Anastasia thoughtful.
Qin Chu didn’t say anything more and just walked towards the four wounded guards. These four were excellent warriors, very strong, around level 70, actually a bit stronger than those assassins, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered.
Holy Light healed their wounds, and the four expressed their gratitude to Qin Chu.
Anastasia also came to Qin Chu again and bowed gracefully, “Respected Hero, please allow me to express my gratitude again. If it weren’t for your help, we would probably have died here.”
After finishing the healing, Qin Chu stood up, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Anastasia, “You know I’m the Hero?”
Anastasia smiled, “Of course, that lady should be Miss Ekaterina, the Crimson Valkyrie, right? A member of the former Hero Squad, and the current Hero’s close friend.”
“Although we live in a world of ice and snow, we still hear about some important events happening in the Auville Empire.”
The term “close friend” pleased Ekaterina, and she nodded repeatedly.
Smart woman.
Anastasia was very polite. Although she expressed her gratitude to Qin Chu, she didn’t have any physical contact with him. The usual noble etiquette of kissing hands, cheek kisses, and hugs were all absent. She was very reserved.
This was almost impossible in the relatively open Auville Empire.
If it were an ordinary noble lady encountering such a situation, she would probably be thinking about what to name her child seven or eight months later.
Qin Chu smiled, “As a gentleman, I couldn’t bear to watch a beautiful lady being besieged by a group of thugs.”
“Perhaps we can learn something from this person.” Qin Chu’s gaze shifted to the assassin leader, whose legs and shoulder were broken, and who was still groaning.
Looking at these people, Qin Chu was 100% certain that it was Grand Prince Lance’s doing.
However, these words coming from his mouth and from the assassin’s mouth had completely different effects.
The assassin leader’s eyes were dull. Seeing his fifty-plus subordinates being slaughtered in less than ten seconds, he knew he was doomed. This guy did show some manly spirit. As Qin Chu walked towards him, he stared at him with bloodshot eyes, “Don’t even dream about it, I won’t tell you anything… Ahhhhh…”
Before he could finish his sentence, it turned into a shrill scream, his body falling to the ground and convulsing.
A large amount of blood spurted from his shoulder, quickly staining the ground crimson. One of his arms was soaked in blood, his fingers still twitching.
Hiss!
This scene made Anastasia and the four guards’ faces change slightly.
This Hero was ruthless.
The blood-stained blade spun in Qin Chu’s palm. He squatted down in front of the leader, looking at the struggling man with an indifferent tone:
“You’d better understand that there are still many parts on your body. You have eyes, a nose, a tongue, ears, one arm, and two legs…”
“I have plenty of time to play with you slowly.”
“Before you speak, I guarantee you won’t die.”
As he spoke, Qin Chu stretched out his right hand, and Holy Light began to heal the assassin leader’s wounds.
The healing was completed, and the Holy Light dissipated, leaving the world dark and gloomy.
At some point, dark clouds had covered the moon, and Qin Chu’s figure was like a monster hidden in the darkness.
Apart from the sound of breathing, the entire jungle was silent, without a single sound. No nightingales, no insects…
The leader stared at the shadow in front of him, his palms sweating, his body trembling. He didn’t feel any relief from the healing of his wounds and the disappearance of the pain. He felt an unprecedented fear.
Because he knew that a feast of blood and pain awaited him.
This man had enough methods and a cruel enough heart to make him experience unprecedented pain, and he also had enough methods to ensure that he wouldn’t die in the process.
Sometimes, words were more effective than actions… Terrifying scenes flashed through the leader’s mind, his body trembling uncontrollably. He felt like his scalp was about to explode from fear.
His breathing turned into gasps.
Fear conquered loyalty.
The leader’s lips trembled, “It’s…”
“The Grand Prince!”
Hum!
As soon as he said these words, Anastasia and the four guards’ faces changed almost simultaneously.
Anastasia’s face turned deathly pale, and her body even swayed.
Qin Chu could clearly feel the breathing behind him becoming short and rapid.
Lance, it was that idiot, as expected.
In the first playthrough, Lance didn’t seem to have arranged for assassins to kill his fiancée. The Lance in the second playthrough seemed much more ferocious… What caused this change in Lance?
It couldn’t be because of him, right?
Probably not!
Qin Chu adjusted his expression and shouted sharply, “Shut up!”
“How dare you slander the Grand Prince! How could the Grand Prince do such a thing as murdering his own fiancée? I don’t believe he would be so stupid!”
Well, he was that stupid.
It wasn’t surprising that Qin Chu knew that Anastasia was the princess-to-be. Many people in the Auville Empire knew about it.
The leader panicked and desperately tried to defend himself, “It’s true, it’s really His Highness Lance! His Highness Lance ordered us to eliminate the princess of the Ice Duchy. He even arranged for people to blow up the Conrad Demon Beast Nest, wanting to create the illusion of a Demon Beast outbreak and blame the princess’s death on the Demon Beasts, so that he could be with Saintess Loseweisse…”
Qin Chu, who had his back to Anastasia, suddenly smiled. Saying Loseweisse’s name was enough. He would leave the rest to Anastasia and the four guards to imagine.
With a whoosh, Qin Chu punched the leader in the head, and his head exploded like a watermelon. Qin Chu directly eliminated the witness.
Qin Chu stood up, an apologetic look on his face, “Sorry, Princess Anastasia, I couldn’t bear to hear this guy slandering good people even on his deathbed.”
Anastasia forced a smile, but she was a smart woman. Although she was shocked at first, she quickly controlled her emotions. Her icy blue eyes swept over the corpses on the ground, her brows slightly furrowed. No one knew what she was thinking.
Qin Chu hesitated before speaking, “Miss Anastasia, I’m not trying to defend the Grand Prince. Everyone in the Imperial City knows that I’m not on good terms with him.”
“My words might sound a bit harsh to you, but the Grand Prince doesn’t welcome your arrival. But even if he’s infatuated with Saintess Loseweisse, he wouldn’t do something like assassinating his fiancée. That’s too foolish, it might even cause a conflict between the Ice Duchy and the Auville Empire.”
Qin Chu seemed to be defending the Grand Prince, but he didn’t provide any evidence. Moreover, every sentence he said reinforced the impression that the Grand Prince was behind the assassination.
And he casually mentioned Saintess Loseweisse, which just happened to match the name the assassin had mentioned.
Anastasia’s expression remained unchanged, but her heart felt empty and uncomfortable. After all, the man she loved deeply, her future husband, was infatuated with another woman. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t something to be happy about.
But she expressed understanding towards the Grand Prince. After all, she and the Grand Prince had never met, it was normal for them to have no feelings. However, Anastasia was confident that she could win back the Grand Prince’s heart.
A bright smile even appeared on Anastasia’s face, “I also believe that His Highness the Grand Prince wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“Hero, you said you have a conflict with His Highness the Grand Prince?” Anastasia changed the subject.
And Qin Chu mercilessly brought the topic back, “Well, about that… I’m the Hero. According to the oracle of the Holy See, Saintess Loseweisse is my destined one… You know, the Grand Prince is crazy about Loseweisse. He even fell out with His Majesty Wadsworth for her, even giving up the throne. Naturally, there’s a conflict between us. I don’t have any feelings for the Saintess, but the Grand Prince clearly doesn’t think so.”
He even gave up the throne… This Grand Prince…
The four guards frowned, clearly starting to feel dissatisfied with the Grand Prince. It was too much of a grievance for the princess to marry such a person.
Only Anastasia’s expression remained unchanged, “Hero, you are an elegant knight, and I believe His Highness the Grand Prince is also a very elegant person… This is just a pitiful misunderstanding.”
Anastasia didn’t want there to be a conflict between her future husband and the Hero. This was definitely not a good thing for the Grand Prince.
“Perhaps I can convey your thoughts to the Grand Prince,” Anastasia said with a smile.
Qin Chu spread his hands, “You’d better not. It will bring you unnecessary trouble.”
He pulled out a towel and wiped the blood from his hands, “I think you’re all tired too. It’s getting late now, and night is when the Demon Beasts are most active. Maybe you can rest for a while, and we can continue our journey tomorrow morning.”
Although Anastasia wanted to return to the Imperial City as soon as possible, Qin Chu’s words made sense.
Moreover, although her guards’ injuries had been healed, their physical strength was almost exhausted, and they did need some rest.
Qin Chu and the four guards buried Anastasia’s dead maids and guards. A little further away from the remaining corpses, Qin Chu found a relatively flat area, started a fire, and shared his food with Anastasia.
Anastasia chewed in small bites, the firelight illuminating her icy, crystal-clear face. Her expression was indifferent, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Today was destined to be a difficult day for Anastasia to accept and digest. She was a noble princess, yet, she was almost assassinated, and many of her maids and attendants died in the attack.
And the prime suspect was actually her future husband.
…
The next day, Anastasia opened her eyes as soon as the morning sunlight touched her face.
There was a coat on her body, seemingly the Hero’s.
Ekaterina held her heavy sword, leaning against a large tree with her eyes slightly closed. Miss Violet sat on a branch, looking into the distance.
Anastasia wanted to have a good relationship with Ekaterina and Violet, but unfortunately, these two were very cold and difficult to approach.
As for the petite lady who saved her and her guards yesterday, she hadn’t appeared since entering Qin Chu’s body.
Qin Chu jumped down from the treetop and stretched, “Good morning, Miss Anastasia… Although I wanted to prepare a delicious breakfast for you, unfortunately, we didn’t bring much food, and we ate it all last night. And maybe because of the fight here yesterday, we can’t even find a small animal nearby, so we can only continue our journey hungry.”
Anastasia smiled, “Hero, the women of the Ice Duchy are not so weak.”
Anastasia wasn’t boasting. Although she was a pampered princess, she could keep up with Qin Chu’s pace. Even if her gorgeous dress was torn by the thorns in the jungle, she didn’t care at all.
It was already noon when Qin Chu found their way back to the Conrad military camp.
Morton, Jason, and Christia were arranging for soldiers to search the surrounding jungle and prepare to dig through the collapsed rubble. When they saw Qin Chu appear, these three powerful experts almost wanted to sit down on the ground.
It was great that the Hero was safe.
They asked Qin Chu what had happened. He simply made up a lie, saying that Violet had used a magic scroll to teleport him away, but the location was a bit remote, so he only returned today.
The three of them didn’t investigate further. For them, the Hero being alive was more important than anything else.
Moreover, not only was the Hero alive, he had also saved the princess of the Ice Duchy, the Grand Prince’s fiancée…
They didn’t dare to delay, afraid that something might happen to the Hero again. They requisitioned some warhorses from the military camp and returned to the Imperial City without a word.
…
At the gate of the Imperial City, the Grand Prince was waiting with his honor guard. He still had to keep up appearances.
He had been waiting since yesterday evening. He was certain that Anastasia couldn’t have appeared in the Imperial City, but because he didn’t want to stay in his room, he still insisted on waiting at the city gate.
Those who didn’t know the truth were even moved by the Grand Prince’s devotion.
As the sky gradually darkened, the Grand Prince yawned. He was a little tired and was about to return to his room to sleep. But at this moment, he suddenly saw small, dark figures appearing in the distance. They seemed to be warhorses galloping, kicking up dust.
As they got closer, the Grand Prince finally saw clearly that it was Morton, the Captain of the Royal Knights, who was leading the way.
Was the Hero back?
The Grand Prince felt irritated. He knew that Morton and some experts from the Holy See and the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess had escorted the Hero to train.
He didn’t want to see the Hero and was about to leave.
But soon, two figures appeared behind Morton.
One of them was the Hero Qin Chu, whom the Grand Prince hated the most.
And the other… even from a distance, he could still tell that it was a very familiar and beautiful woman. Perhaps because she was riding a horse, her icy blue hair fluttered behind her.
It was his fiancée, Anastasia.
The Grand Prince shivered, his expression suddenly turning very strange.
Why did his fiancée appear with Qin Chu? Why was Anastasia still alive? Could it be that Qin Chu saved her?
This damned bastard, always ruining his plans.
The two of them seemed to be getting along quite well, even chatting while riding. With Battle Qi focused in his eyes, the Grand Prince could clearly see Anastasia covering her mouth and chuckling, seemingly amused by something Qin Chu said.
Soon, he saw that Anastasia was wearing a man’s coat. That was… Qin Chu’s coat?
Could it be that they were together last night? Why was Anastasia wearing Qin Chu’s coat? Why did she look disheveled, her dress seemingly torn?
His fists subconsciously clenched, and his teeth gnashed together.
A gust of wind blew, and the Grand Prince felt something land on his top hat. He reached out and took it off. It was an emerald green leaf!
**
T/N: In Chinese culture, a green hat is a symbol of Infidelity or cuckoldry(“Green leaf” makes a reference to it.)
- The person wearing the green hat is the one being cheated on by their lover.
Leave a Reply to LARV Cancel reply