novelraw Chapter 215: Elizabeth Gothrin (Two-in-One, Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader)
Chapter 215: Elizabeth Gothrin (Two-in-One, Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader)
"Fisher, what are you talking about?"
Elizabeth's beautiful and gentle expression was just like the Mother Goddess' most devout emissary. She looked at the Fisher before her eyes rather doubtfully, seemingly completely unable to understand what he was talking about. She hesitated for a moment, gently reaching out wanting to touch Fisher's forehead, wanting to see if he had a fever.
But Fisher straightforwardly reached out and grabbed Elizabeth's soft hands. His intuition and all his rationality were exerted to the utmost at this moment. He rapidly went through everything he had experienced when returning from the Southern Continent, absolutely all the information.
As a result, the more he recalled, the more terrifying the resulting brought about became; the more he recalled, the more certain he became of his thoughts.
"...The person truly cooperating with Erwind is you, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth looked at the man before her eyes rather astounded, seemingly unable to understand what he was talking about.
Fisher, however, gently let go of her hands. The surrounding soldiers all halted and paused; it seemed without Elizabeth's command they wouldn't advance another step.
Previously Fisher always thought Erwind was the final mastermind behind the scenes, and even Black was merely a pawn in his hands... but recalling carefully, there was fundamentally no meaning for Erwind to do these things; he fundamentally lacked the motive to act.
Even if what he wanted was the Completion Handbooks, that should also be something he knew after the Schwari delegation was attacked. Then prior to that, what was he staying in Saint-Nazareth for?
What if Erwind and Elizabeth were cooperative partners, and moreover Erwind acted under Elizabeth's orders?Taking Erwind as the hidden line, and Elizabeth as the open line, then what had they done over this period of time?
Fisher looked at the Elizabeth before his eyes, not answering her doubts, narrating his train of thought out loud while thinking,
"As early as seeing the flesh grafting technology in Black's hands I should have known. The technology the Witch Research Society used to create Artificial Witches was flesh grafting (details in chapter 35), and this technology wasn't their own, it was given to them by Erwind. Why did Erwind give this technology to them?"
"There is only one thing within the Witch Research Society that truly belongs as a legacy of a true witch. Through flesh grafting that strand of black hair they created the most perfect Artificial Witch, Caro. And if they wanted to continue creating Artificial Witches anew, they could only do so through constantly harvesting Caro's body parts... this was precisely your goal. What you wanted was a pawn belonging to the Witch Research Society yet resenting them."
Elizabeth quietly looked at the Fisher before her eyes, seemingly currently waiting for his following words. Fisher continued to extend according to the train of thought within his mind,
"It was you who went to Schwari to facilitate the friendly relations between the two nations (chapter 23), it was you who discussed and decided upon the academic visit with the Queen of Schwari. This is also why you would know the Schwari academic delegation would carry the silver mirror borrowed from Kadu, and you passed this news to the Pink Pavilion through Erwind, only then allowing the Pink Pavilion to devise the plan to attack the Schwari delegation."
Elizabeth, however, shook her head. Looking at Fisher she denied,
"This is entirely possible that Black instructed Erwind to do this. The plan was formulated by the Pink Pavilion; it was them who needed the preconditions, not me."
Fisher remained motionless, picking up her words,
"There is indeed this possibility, but if the final result of this operation wasn't what it is today, I might not have even thought this."
"The attack on Schwari could only be the result of a deal between Lensis and Black. Black using Muxi, who had reached the end of her lifespan, to extend his life was merely a delaying tactic. He still needed another Whale-kin to complete the flesh graft. But for an organism like a Whale-kin that hasn't appeared on land for a long time, how would Black know where they are?"
Fisher's gaze shifted slightly. Staring straight at the Elizabeth before his eyes, he continued,
"Unless, Lensis was reminded by someone that every eighty years a Whale-kin's letter would be delivered ashore. Using the Whale-kin's clues and official aid as chips, he had Black repay two things. The first was to distribute a portion of this Whale-kin to Godolin IX, thereby obtaining the status of heir; the second thing was to thoroughly ruin the Schwari visit activities Dexter was in charge of, which could strike a blow to his elder brother's faction."
"But this operation was declared a failure because of Caro and my intervention. The Pink Pavilion's assassination failed, not only providing Dexter with Lensis' flaw, the Pink Pavilion also entered the public's field of vision because of the bill exposed by Anna."
"But investigating its fundamental reason, the reason I reached a cooperation with Caro was because I used the Schwari perfume you gave me to enter the Pink Pavilion. Anna recognized me through that fainter perfume (chapter 102), which only then allowed Caro to leave the Pink Pavilion and reach a deal with me."
"And Anna herself also made up her mind to leave Black to pursue freedom precisely because of you (chapter 102). The reason he would resist Black, would risk death to expose the Pink Pavilion's bills, was entirely because of your encouragement... I don't know how you did it, but after this operation, Dexter started paying attention to Lensis, and Black behind the Pink Pavilion also entered my line of sight."
"But what did you, the seemingly completely unrelated Crown Princess, obtain? The scandal-ridden New Party lost Dexter's trust, and additionally faced the danger of being inspected. They needed a new royal backer to enable them to break away from their current predicament. Thus they went through me, requesting your help to eliminate the evidence (chapter 92)... this is your true goal. In reality, you didn't honor the promise to eliminate the New Party's corruption evidence, right? That evidence is right in your hands at this very moment."
"In that assassination operation everyone was a loser, only you obtained the leverage to suppress the New Party, and additionally ignited the war between Dexter and Lensis... This is also the reason why Erwind told me at the time 'How do you know the goal hasn't been achieved? (chapter 83)'."
Violent sounds constantly transmitted from the Saint-Nazareth city in the distance, that was the Southern Continent lifeform named "Anna" making attempts to return home. Fisher's words consequently grew faster and faster as he spoke, just as if reproducing Elizabeth's methods at the time,
"You knew early on that Jasmine would come ashore before the Godolin Festival, and before I returned, the Naris Navy had been out of port constantly conducting military exercises (chapter 12). Jasmine had no other choice but to choose to come ashore in a place without exercises. That place was Selikang Port, and also the base where the Navy was originally stationed (chapter 63)."
"From the very beginning, you knew Jasmine was that Whale-kin. Since she came ashore you have been monitoring her actions the whole time. Her being attacked, her companion being abducted by the Pink Pavilion's people, and then Anna cooperating with me, you knew absolutely everything. You incited me and Anna to cooperate, ruining Lensis and Black's plan, destroying that bell, precisely for now..."
"The rampaging Anna will be exposed to the public in the most terrifying manner. Black and the Pioneering Company behind him will take responsibility for this, and the royal family instantly obtained the massive share of the Pioneering Company's stock; Lensis and Dexter's strife was thereby intensified, even Godolin IX was dragged into it..."
With one of her stratagems, almost all the enemies she could see were entirely brought down, and moreover this was only the part he could see. This couldn't explain why the Occult Bureau and people from other factions didn't step in to intervene; she definitely made other schemes, but he hadn't come into contact with them...
Elizabeth looked at the Fisher before her eyes appreciatively. She clapped her hands rather surprisedly, and subsequently smiled,
"Truly outstanding deduction, Fisher. However, you got one point wrong. My goal wasn't just bringing down the New Party, Lensis, Dexter, Royal Father, and the Pioneering Company..."
She leaned slightly closer to Fisher. That wisp of fragrant wind assaulted instantly, and her gentle breath also struck Fisher's cheeks, transmitting a trace of itchiness,
"My target also includes you, Fisher."
"From today onward, we will be together forever and ever, okay?"
Fisher, who had already fallen into a hopeless situation, was slightly startled. No wonder she would dispatch Erwind to protect him time and time again, and earlier didn't she say she wanted to take him back to the Golden Palace?
I'm afraid within the Golden Palace right at this moment, Dexter, Lensis, and also Godolin IX had already all been killed by her, right? If he followed her back, the only thing waiting for him was eternal imprisonment.
But he gave a bitter smile, merely opening his mouth to ask,
"There are three final questions. Is the Gryphon Party secretly supporting you? How exactly did Erwind bewitch Black? I don't believe a pioneer who loved Muxi so much would commit this kind of taboo, grave sin... And how did you and Erwind reach a cooperation?"
Elizabeth took a step back, looking straight at the Fisher before her eyes.
At this moment, Fisher abruptly realized that those golden eyes of hers were bottomless like the abyss. Interspersed within were countless metallic chains, reflecting Fisher's inverted image over, only within her golden eyes, that inverted image was somewhat blurry and twisted.
She gently raised her arm in her hand. In Fisher's line of sight, a twisted, scarlet blood oath was exhibited. That was the blood oath Elizabeth made with another person,
"Fisher, regarding Naris' problem you understand. The Pioneering Company and the New Party did indeed grow increasingly robust for our development, but reaching the current stage, they have become more and more like malignant tumors, more and more difficult to grasp. Teacher Dami'an and I made a blood oath. I swore that after becoming Queen I would do my utmost to lead Naris marching toward a brand new era. He promised me..."
After finishing saying all this, the blood oath in Elizabeth's hand slowly disappeared anew, hiding in some unknown place. She also continued to say,
"As for Erwind... he owed me a very big favor. For this favor, he was willing to carry out this cooperation with me. However, I also hadn't anticipated that in the end he would renege, posing a danger to you. And regarding Black... it wasn't Erwind who bewitched him, it was me."
"Let's tell a story, Fisher."
"After graduation, the third year after you left me, I was ordered by Royal Father to take charge of the border army, to deal with the increasingly intense military friction with Schwari. You should have heard of these stories. I achieved total victory in the battles with Schwari, pacifying the military friction between the two nations. However, the world only knows I achieved total victory in thirty-three battles, yet they don't know what I went through."
The soldiers beside them stood exactly in place like iron pillars, straightly gazing at the Elizabeth before their eyes. Her expression was gentle, as if she was merely narrating a story that completely didn't concern herself,
"In the fourth campaign, the Arikbe Campaign, I received a normal patrol order from Hackberg, the Grand Marshal at the time, ordering me to lead the army to the Arikbe Fortress to execute a mission... but there, I was unexpectedly ambushed by Schwari."
"In that ambush battle, my army suffered heavy casualties, and I was also very severely injured. An active Schwari artillery shell exploded not five meters in front of me; the shrapnel fragments produced by the burst completely destroyed my eyes."
Fisher frowned as he listened. Subsequently, he suddenly remembered something, opening his mouth to say,
"Hackberg? That was one of the three teachers appointed to him by Godolin IX..."
Elizabeth, however, laughed gently, nodding toward Fisher,
"Yes, I siphoned off a portion of my elder brother's military power. For revenge, Hackberg told me a wrong operational location, causing me and my army to suffer heavy casualties. My eyes were blinded, Fisher, yet within my army there were still many, many traitors arranged by Dexter and Hackberg."
"When I was injured, I guessed it was a mistake committed by my elder brother. Consequently I telegrammed Royal Father, asking him to uphold justice... but in the end he chose to turn a blind eye, telling me to return to Saint-Nazareth on a chosen date..."
"Heh, in the darkness of disappointment and blindness, I was fearful and worried, deeply afraid that the next medical personnel or military officer who came in would come in to kill me. Do you know what I was thinking at the time? Fisher..."
A trace of an obvious crack finally appeared on Elizabeth's gentle expression. Taking a step forward, she merely gently reached out to caress Fisher's cheeks,
"I was thinking of you... Even if you weren't by my side at the time, as long as you didn't abandon me it would be fine, so I could still fantasize your appearance in the dark. But why... why did you abandon me and leave? In a patch of darkness I could only recount that indifferent face of yours looking at me, could only recount how you ignored me."
"Living in the Godolin family for so long, did you think our family environment was so harmonious, so friendly? Growing up until now, I still feel the only light in my life is you. During university, only every day when I was together with you did I feel fulfilled. How many times did I fantasize about marrying you, being together with you..."
"I was just too jealous of other women, all women who approached you. I just wanted to chase them away so that your eyes only had me. I made excessive actions at the time, but why... wouldn't you give me even a single chance?"
"How much I wanted to make all of them pay the price, how much I wanted you to return to my side, do you know?"
"Within the darkness, a voice finally responded to me."
Elizabeth slowly lowered the soft hands caressing Fisher. In the next second, he saw her merely gently reach out and tap the eyes within her eye sockets. Beyond Fisher's expectations, those eyes abruptly emitted a crisp, glass-like ringing sound.
"Clang!"
So those weren't Elizabeth's original eyes, but rather a pair of eye-shaped relics!
Relics, [Pandora's Prosthetic Eyes]
But those eyes were truly too lifelike. If it wasn't for Elizabeth directly reaching out to touch them, I'm afraid nobody would have been able to discover the Crown Princess' eyes would be replaced by such a pair of relics.
But it was exactly as Elizabeth said; Godolin IX chose to favor his eldest son, suppressing the news of Elizabeth's injury.
"This pair of eyes sensed my urgent desire, reaching a deal with me. She helped me restore my vision, acting as my eyes, and the price was, letting me pursue what I wanted and show her..."
That was a pair of conscious relics, objects of the same nature as Eimhart!
"Pandora bestowed upon me vision and observation skills surpassing ordinary people, simultaneously allowing me to see through and twist other people's desires. Black's original desire wanting to stay together with Muxi forever was twisted by me into a suitable appearance, only then giving Erwind an opportunity to step in. Not just Black, Anna, Lensis, Dexter, and Royal Father, they were all like this."
Elizabeth's hollow gaze stared straight at the Fisher before her eyes, it was merely that the content within those words was a bit too shivering with fear,
"Humans, are ultimately slaves to desire. When I remodel the targets they pursue into the appearance I want, they resemble a train installed upon tracks that will drive toward the destination I want them to go to..."
Arriving at this moment, Fisher finally understood why Elizabeth's plans appeared extremely coincidental yet unavoidable, because the numerous matters within were just like the choices those behavioral subjects made themselves, but in the end they would point toward such a result beneficial to Elizabeth.
Once driven by a twisted objective of desire, even a person like Black would forget the matter of deeply loving Muxi, let alone the others. Lensis bit around indiscriminately directly as if he went mad.
Elizabeth had already been preparing in Saint-Nazareth for a very, very long time. As early as before Fisher returned, the entire Saint-Nazareth had already been like a frenzied amusement park. She was merely waiting for Fisher, this final passenger, to start this murder game.
And playing the game up to here, it could be said the dust has settled. Elizabeth, this chess player living in seclusion behind the scenes, was the true winner; everyone else was merely her toys.
Thinking of this, Fisher, who had fallen into a hopeless situation, also couldn't help but mock himself,
"Then why didn't you directly twist my desire? If you twisted my desire, perhaps the me who adores ladies would have obediently returned to the Golden Palace with you long ago."
Elizabeth's expression remained unchanged, just exactly like the quiet Nari Lake nearby. She merely said,
"I've thought like that too, Fisher. Even if you don't like me, as long as you could be with me it would be fine. However, Pandora has no way to take effect on my desires..."
She turned her head over, her eyes becoming hollow anew. It seemed every time she activated the relic's ability, that pair of pale golden eyes would become even more lifeless and hollow, but how could ordinary observation discover the subtle differences in the eyes?
"As early as before you came I had already finalized all plans. But do you know, Fisher? Every time when I genuinely log at you, my heart would soften; I have even thought of giving up this plan. Perhaps this is precisely the reason you were able to perceive flaws. According to my original concept, only when you were locked up by me would you realize something was wrong."
"But at the time, even when I discovered you already had someone else outside before, what I actually thought was, as long as you were willing to give them up and get back together with me, I could ignore all past grudges... I fundamentally don't care about the mistakes you committed, Fisher. But why did you refuse to give me a chance?"
"I don't know where you met that Renee whom even Pandora has no way to see through. But at the time I was indeed flustered, afraid of you being snatched away from my side by that woman, so I would ask you like that... If that afternoon, the afternoon of the Saint-Nazareth University Godolin Festival celebration, in front of the carriage you told me, you were willing to forgive me, and could get back together with me, I would have resolutely given up all plans to be with you."
"But you fundamentally don't like me. Fisher, in fact when all is said and done, exactly do you not like me as a person, or do you not like carrying the responsibility of loyalty that comes with being with me? I was able to preserve my chastity waiting for you for so many years; are you unwilling to part with even giving me a single chance..."
"Since then I gave up fantasizing. I began to realize, only by firmly locking you up with chains would you become obedient. Then I had no choice but to prepare the true chains for you."
"I executed the plan meticulously; I even pretended not to see you being affectionate with this fish... but you didn't know, every time I had to forcefully endure it until I scratched my skin until it bled. Just seeing you with other women makes me want to kill them!"
The more she spoke, the more her words trembled. Even Fisher could clearly feel the crying tone carried within her words, but what was strange was, there wasn't a speck of tears within her eyes.
Because Elizabeth's true eyes were already blinded; she had already been stripped of the right to shed tears by artillery fire. But that couldn't deny how many times she had once cried for this person, Fisher, before she became blind.
She gently reached out her hand. A twisted golden sword instantly appeared in her hands. That Gothrin's Blade symbolizing royal authority blazed ragingly with golden flames, as if an extension of her will.
Not unexpectedly, Gothrin's Blade had already been completely controlled by her.
In the next second, her sword edge twisted straight, pointing distantly at the Jasmine lying on the stretcher far away. That groundless burning golden flame spread along the ground, advancing toward the unconscious Jasmine,
"But it doesn't matter anymore. After I kill this fish, we'll go back and get married, okay?"
Elizabeth's golden eyes stared deadly at Jasmine, as if not only seeing Jasmine, but also seeing the other ladies who had had relations with Fisher before,
"After getting married, we will be happy, I promise."