Chapter 63: Will You Accompany Me to See This Foolish Dream?
Entering someone else’s spiritual world was an entirely new experience that Rast had never gone through before.
The path of spirituality had been pierced through.
He felt his spiritual incarnation condense into a vague, shadowy figure, appearing in a new world composed of fragments of Shiltina’s memories, observing everything happening before him from a third-person, god’s-eye perspective.
It seemed to be a train station platform deep within a forest.
On the platform, a man and a woman were engaged in conversation—or rather, an argument.
“Allen, the Twillight Calamity has already been confirmed to have descended on the Autumn Leaf Territory.”
“In the present world, the Twillight Calamity manifested as a wildfire that nearly burned down an entire mountain range, engulfing more than a dozen cities within Autumn Leaf Territory.”
“Of course, according to Nightworld intelligence confirmed by Starfall University’s Relic Institute, this unprecedented wildfire is not a natural disaster… but the result of a high-tier, conservatively estimated sixth-rank fire-element demon lord that materialized in reality from a calamity remnant.”
“I must return to Autumn Leaf Territory at once. Allen, will you come with me?”
The speaker was a solemn-looking woman, with delicate features and smooth chestnut hair cascading down her back.
Though the body wrapped beneath the knight’s armored skirt was small and slender, it carried an aura of nobility and dignity, compelling observers to unconsciously overlook her age and appearance.
At first glance, Rast nearly mistook her for Shiltina herself.
But soon after, he noticed a few differences.
Though her appearance and imposing aura were similar to Shiltina’s, this woman’s features were clearly more mature.
The curves outlined by the knight’s attire lacked the youthful tenderness of Shiltina’s form, instead possessing a fuller, richer figure.
Since this was a spiritual world constructed from fragments of Shiltina’s memories—
Then this mature woman who looked very much like Shiltina but was clearly older, must be Shiltina’s mother?
Just as that thought surfaced—
Rast saw, on the other side of the platform, the silver-haired middle-aged man whom Shiltina’s mother had called “Allen” close his eyes in pain.
“Cecilia, you know I can’t do that.”
“The barbarian tribes of the enemy nation have already invaded Winterhold Fortress. As a prince, and as the newly appointed supreme commander of the military, I must go to the border no matter what.”
“You know all too well the conduct of those barbarian armies. If Winterhold Fortress falls, it would mean the collapse of the entire northern region of the empire. Those foreign troops, colluding with cultists, would not consider any sustainable occupation strategy—they would loot indiscriminately, and even massacre or blood-sacrifice entire cities.”
His voice was authoritative and steady, yet carried a difficult-to-conceal struggle.
“From a national interest standpoint, even if all the cities in Autumn Leaf Territory are devoured by wildfire… the loss wouldn’t compare to the consequences of losing the northern front.”
“Besides, Father is gravely ill. This moment is crucial for the royal succession. If the north falls due to my failure, the succession will essentially slip from my grasp.”
“Reforming a decaying empire always on the brink of collapse. Rectifying the power abuse of the imperial nobility. Uniting the nation and Starfall University to eliminate internal strife and conquer the Nightworld together.”
“So that the Twillight Calamity no longer descends upon this world, and every imperial citizen can live in peace… That too, was our shared dream.”
Gazing at the dignified middle-aged man whose voice trembled with pain and conflict, Rast was slightly stunned.
He suddenly realized he knew this person—from the internet, through the intelligent terminal.
Though the man’s appearance was younger than widely-circulated images online, the name “Allen,” the pure silver hair, and the clues within Shiltina’s memory fragments left no room for doubt.
The man before him was none other than the current King of the Granwell Kingdom—Allen von Fresberg.
“Yes.”
“For the people to live in peace… free from the Nightworld, the Twillight Calamity, and the ravages of war. That really has always been our dream.”
Upon hearing this, the female knight whom Allen had called Cecilia—and likely Shiltina’s mother—smiled faintly.
“But Allen.”
“Our dreams… are still not the same.”
She turned directly, looked up at the sky, and whistled.
A few breaths later—
Boom—
A deafening storm descended suddenly, lifting a whirlwind of red maple leaves across the platform.
It was a massive griffin, its pitch-black wings blotting out the sun.
The majesty it exuded forced all nearby beasts within a kilometer radius to crouch in submission, trembling uncontrollably.
The black griffin landed lightly on the platform before Cecilia. In its giant beastly eyes shimmered a hint of appeasement.
Cecilia’s chestnut hair fluttered in the wind. She gently patted the griffin’s massive head and was about to mount it.
But just then, Allen’s hoarse voice rang out again.
“Cecilia, can you not go?”
“I can send Tuck and the others to support Autumn Leaf Territory instead…”
Hearing Allen’s hoarse plea, the chestnut-haired knight gave no reply.
Yet the way she turned her back and walked toward the black griffin already said everything.
“What if I knock you unconscious right now and forcibly bring you back to the imperial capital?”
Allen’s voice sounded again.
But for some reason, despite the threatening words, for the first time, a trace of pleading shimmered in the eyes of the normally dignified and composed middle-aged man.
“You know what I would do if you did that.”
In the distance, Cecilia’s steps paused slightly.
She turned sideways and met the man’s gaze across the station: “I understand. As the heir to the empire, you have your duty.”
“But I have mine as well.”
“The Ingrit family is just a small noble house in the borderlands. My subjects only number a few tens of thousands in Autumn Leaf Territory… I do not have the resolve to shoulder the fate and interests of an entire empire like you.”
“All I know is the creed of the Rangers—”
“As a noble, one must protect one’s people, even at the cost of their life; as a knight, as long as there is still breath, one must never let their comrades die before them.”
“This is my justice—the justice of Cecilia Ingrit. It is different from yours, Allen.”
She looked toward Allen, who wore a military cloak, yet whose figure seemed somehow hunched, and her gaze softened slightly.
“Thank you, Allen.”
“No matter what, I have never regretted meeting and knowing you.”
“To have become your wife—that was the greatest fortune of my life.”
As those words fell, the female knight turned her body without a shred of hesitation in her movements.
She leapt lightly and landed on the back of the massive black griffin.
On the other side, Allen subconsciously reached out, as if trying to grasp the departing figure.
But his hand ultimately froze midair.
“Wait.”
Cecilia’s movement halted slightly, but she did not look back.
“I will bring Shiltina from Autumn Leaf Territory to the imperial capital. I won’t let her remain with the Rangers.”
Allen’s voice now held none of its previous hesitation or inner turmoil, leaving only iron-clad, unquestionable authority.
“Once the royal succession is complete, and I ascend the throne… I will need an heir. And the empire will need a ‘Dragonheart’ successor.”
“Given the conditions and resources of Autumn Leaf Territory and the Rangers, it is not suitable to raise a prince or princess of the empire.”
There was no response.
The massive black griffin soared into the air, its wings stirring a storm.
Soon, the griffin and the slender figure of the knight upon it disappeared into the distant sky—in the direction of Autumn Leaf Territory.
Boom—
A few minutes later, a train roared onto the platform and came to a stop.
The doors opened, and someone approached Allen’s side, asking softly, “Shall I head to Autumn Leaf Territory to assist Cecilia in subduing that fire-element demon lord?”
“No need.”
The silver-haired middle-aged man’s voice became as cold as steel, devoid of emotion.
“Not just Autumn Leaf Territory… Winterhold Fortress is also critically short on forces. If your absence causes the northern front to fall, that would be a loss the empire cannot afford.”
He stepped onto the train, and in the next moment, the doors shut.
The train sped along the tracks, heading in the complete opposite direction from where Cecilia had flown—toward the north.
Suddenly, the silver-haired man’s steps halted.
“Tuck, use your Nightblade to manifest a projection of Autumn Leaf Territory for Shiltina—a real-time image of Cecilia subduing the fire-element demon lord.”
“For Shiltina? But she only just turned five this year.”
The man named Tuck hesitated visibly, casting a hesitant glance toward the corner of the carriage.
Only then did Rast, who had been observing from a third-person perspective this entire time, suddenly notice.
In the corner, a small girl with chestnut hair and a frilly dress had been cowering the entire time, quietly watching the argument unfold between Allen and Cecilia.
She clutched a teddy bear in her hands, her eyes full of confusion and fear… completely unable to understand why her once-loving parents would have such a fierce dispute today—so intense it would lead them down separate paths.
“Her age doesn’t matter.”
“To become a proper imperial heir, to shoulder the future of the entire empire…”
“‘Sacrifice’ is the very first lesson Shiltina must learn.”
Leaving these words behind, the silver-haired man turned and left.
Only the middle-aged man named Tuck remained, sighing softly after a long hesitation, then lightly waving his hand.
Before the timid little girl, a water-like, real-time projection shimmered into being.
…
“I really miscalculated.”
“To think you’d get to see that side of me—so innocent, naive, unaware of the world.”
A clear voice, like the evening breeze rustling through leaves, rang beside Rast’s ear.
He turned around and found Shiltina standing behind him, watching the memory fragment unfold.
Rast stirred slightly inside. He had assumed Shiltina had been trapped within this illusion of the past, unable to escape by her own power.
But now it seemed Shiltina had long since become aware of the illusion, and regained her self-awareness… yet for some reason, she hadn’t broken free.
“Some memories can’t be avoided forever. In the end, they must be faced…”
“Besides, for me, this is also an opportunity.”
“An opportunity to examine my inner self—to perfect my mind, and leave no flaw behind.”
As if sensing Rast’s thoughts, Shiltina smiled and stepped up beside him.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, they both gazed at the little girl within the carriage—no more than five or six years old, with eyes full of confusion and unease.
“Lady Cecilia Ingrit is your mother? That explains a lot.”
Rast thought for a moment and asked.
“But based on that memory fragment… His Majesty Allen is your father?”
“So that means I should address you as Princess Shiltina?”
“But I recall seeing in online records that His Majesty Allen has a wife, and she’s not from the Ingrit family… Plus, he has a daughter named Ophelia.”
Shiltina raised a slender, fair hand and played with a lock of her chestnut hair near her brow: “That’s because after my father took the throne, in order to divide the great nobles of the capital—recruiting some and suppressing others—he chose to marry a duke’s daughter. That woman is now my stepmother.”
“And Ophelia von Fresberg is my half-sister.”
“I see. Then Miss Shiltina has really had it tough—having even her royal surname taken away.”
Rast nodded sympathetically.
In his mind, he had already crafted thousands of words’ worth of a Cinderella-style story—Shiltina being oppressed by her stepmother, her rightful place as heir stolen by her stepsister, yet rising strong and alone at Starfall University.
Pfft—
Beside him, Shiltina couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It’s not like what you imagined.”
“Even Dean Silver is wary of Ophelia, but in front of me, she’s always sweet and obedient—a typical good little sister.”
“My stepmother treats me well too. I respect her like my own mother.”
“It’s just…”
Shiltina’s gaze lingered on the water-like projection conjured by Tuck before them, which was continuously shifting.
“When I was at my most tender, most innocent, when my worldview hadn’t even taken shape yet… I saw something.”
“And it became the belief that haunted me for life—something I would never forget, something I vowed to uphold with everything I had.”
“Or perhaps… it became what you’d call obsession.”
“My refusal to use the royal surname, my rejection of the title ‘First Princess’… even turning down all support and resources from the royal family, and coming to Starfall University all by myself, all stem from that one reason.”
“A reason that to others may seem rigid, outdated, and foolishly inflexible.”
As she spoke, the light tone of Shiltina’s voice grew a little more solemn.
She turned and looked Rast in the eyes with her light brown gaze.
“Rast.”
“Will you accompany me—to see this foolish dream through?”
Rast chuckled and nodded.
“That would be my greatest honor.”
He sensed that the Chariot Card in his “The Fool’s Library,” long stuck at “Bond Level: 2”—
Was finally about to reach the point of evolution.
…………………………