Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 174: Duel Against The Princess Of The Merman Kingdom

Chapter 174: Duel Against The Princess Of The Merman Kingdom

Tatiana, looking furious and leveling her trident, glanced at the table and spotted Exgrandal resting there. Then, her eyes shifted to Ard, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Who are you, human?" Tatiana barked.

"My name is Arden Larsen Fredonia, the third prince of the Fredonia Kingdom on the eastern continent, the surface," Ard answered as he stood up and lifted Exgrandal from the table.

"He is also the reincarnation of the hero Ashton, who liberated our race from Malekh, and the Demon Lord Azroth, who has protected us all this time. Do you understand?" Triton added. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Tatiana looked toward Triton with a face full of fury, then turned back to look at Ard, before looking at Triton once again.

"Fine. If he really is Ashton, let me test him, Papa," Tatiana said. Then she turned to face Ard. "You... fight me, right now," Tatiana shouted, throwing down the challenge.

"Hey... Tatiana, don’t be so disrespectful!" Triton shouted in anger.

"It’s alright, King Triton. Very well, Princess. But we can’t exactly have a match in this room, can we?" Ard asked casually, calming Triton down as he prepared to face Tatiana.

"Follow me," Tatiana said curtly.

Then Tatiana headed out, with Ard following close behind. Meanwhile, Triton, Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin trailed them anxiously. Finally, Luca followed them, carrying her bag of snacks and swimming along casually, eating without a care in the world. They walked to the back of the palace and arrived at a coral garden. The coral garden was vast, filled with countless beautiful corals acting as ornaments in place of flowers.

After passing through the coral garden, they reached a field that appeared to be used for training by the palace soldiers, as there were also barracks located there. Tatiana stopped in the middle of the field, then turned back to face Ard behind her.

"Let’s begin," Tatiana said.

Immediately, Tatiana crouched slightly into her stance, spinning her trident and preparing to strike with a deadly serious expression.

"Alright. Feel free to come at me whenever you like," Ard said casually, standing there holding Exgrandal.

"Hurry up and get ready," Tatiana barked, irritated by how relaxed Ard seemed.

"Hmm... okay. I’m ready. Come on, Princess," Ard replied, remaining motionless and looking even more at ease than before.

"You... you’re looking down on me, aren’t you? Take this!" Tatiana shouted in a rage.

Without further delay, Tatiana lunged forward, thrusting her trident toward Ard’s face. "Clang!" Ard raised Exgrandal in front of his face, angling it upward to parry the trident, which stopped just inches from his smiling face. However, when Tatiana tried to pull her trident back, Ard twisted Exgrandal, locking the weapon so it couldn’t be withdrawn.

Tatiana struggled visibly to pull her trident free, straining until her face turned red, while Ard remained perfectly calm, letting the three prongs of the trident hover just centimeters from his face—yet the smile on his face vanished, a sign that he was not taking the princess lightly.

"That is enough!" Triton shouted, stepping forward.

Ard rotated Exgrandal back, releasing Tatiana’s trident. She immediately pulled it back and stood tall, though she kept her eyes fixed on Ard, who was now looking at Triton standing between them. Triton nodded to Ard before turning to face his daughter.

"Are you satisfied, Tatiana?" Triton asked sternly.

Tatiana, looking at her father, said nothing, but she gave a slow nod in response before lowering her head slightly. Triton stared into his daughter’s eyes as if to say, "we will talk later." Then, Triton turned back to Ard.

"Forgive my daughter’s insolence, Prince Ard," Triton said.

"It is quite alright, Your Majesty. What matters is that there is no longer a problem," Ard replied.

"My wife... Tatiana’s mother, was captured by humans and killed during a rescue attempt about five years ago. That is why my daughter hates humans," Triton said, sharing his story with Ard.

"Oh? I am sorry, Your Majesty, I didn’t know. But I can understand why she hates humans; she clearly has her reasons. Who was it that captured your wife, Your Majesty?" Ard asked.

"Pirates from the northern continent," Triton answered.

"Huh." Hearing that, Claudia was instantly shocked, and her face turned deathly pale in an instant. Ard turned to look at Claudia, who also turned to look at him. Claudia’s expression suddenly shifted; her eyes seemed to say, "please stay quiet and don’t say anything, we both know who he’s talking about."

Ard, understanding Claudia’s intent, immediately changed the subject to avoid the sensitive topic. King Triton then invited Ard back inside, and Tatiana followed behind them with her head bowed. Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin still stood like statues as they watched the three of them depart.

Claudia looked relieved, while Ainsley and Irwin, standing on either side of her, immediately turned toward her.

"Was it really Vahn who captured her?" Ainsley asked.

"I don’t know, but if it’s pirates from the northern continent... he’s the only one with that reputation," Claudia answered.

"Hmm... in that case, we’d better stay quiet. Let’s not mess everything up by saying the wrong thing... we don’t know any Vahn," Irwin remarked.

"Yeah, it’s a good thing Ard understood and changed the subject immediately," Ainsley replied.

"That’s true. If Ard had accidentally let it slip that he knows Vahn, it could have been trouble; everything we’ve done here could have ended in a total failure. When I get back to the northern continent and see Vahn, I’m definitely going to ask him about this," Claudia said with firm determination.

"So that’s how it is."

Startled, the three of them immediately turned to the side. As it turned out, Luca was standing right next to them, clutching her bag of snacks, and she had clearly heard everything. Their faces went pale and they stood there stunned, but Luca appeared relaxed and simply offered a smile.

"Relax, I won’t say a word... but what King Triton meant by five years ago was actually fifty years ago. There’s no way the pirate you know was even born back then, unless he’s over eighty years old now, right? I know him too—don’t forget that when you crossed on his ship, you passed right by me," Luca asked nonchalantly.

"Oh... really?" Claudia asked, shocked but visibly relieved.

"Yes, the way time is counted underwater and on the surface is different. Besides, King Triton has never been to the surface, has he? He doesn’t know the difference. So, it’s clear that the one who captured his wife wasn’t your acquaintance," Luca answered nonchalantly.

"Thank goodness for that... I was so tense because Vahn is my cousin. If he really had been involved with the mermen, it would have been truly embarrassing," Claudia said, appearing suddenly at ease.

"Does that mean the mermen have their own way of keeping time?" Ainsley asked curiously.

"Yep, exactly," Luca said casually.

"Well, that’s a relief. I was actually getting tense just now," Irwin replied, sounding relaxed.

"Hey... are you guys coming or what?"

The three of them looked straight ahead and saw Ard, who was already some distance away, turning back to call out to them while Triton and Tatiana waited behind him. Without another word, the three of them ran forward, pulling Luca along to rejoin Ard.

After returning inside, they began discussing troop logistics and planning their offensive, coordinating it with the demon race’s assault from the western continent that Ard had previously arranged. Then, Tatiana stepped forward and volunteered to lead the army herself as an apology, and also because she wished to represent the merman race in battle.

Triton gave her his permission, confident in his daughter’s abilities, and Ard agreed, extending his hand toward Tatiana.

"Thank you, Princess. I’m glad you want to help us. Let’s save the world together," Ard said with a smile.

"Very well, Prince Ard. Thank you for allowing me to fight alongside you, and once again, I apologize for my earlier insolence," Tatiana replied, this time with a smile of her own.

They returned to planning their offensive. Once they had finished, Tatiana invited Ard, Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin to tour the city with the permission of Triton, who suggested that Ard and the others stay the night in the Kingdom of Lenoria. Naturally, Luca also came along to look around since Ard had invited her. Tatiana, who had previously hated humans, was now showing her kingdom to them and explaining everything cheerfully.

Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin looked around the city, which was made almost entirely of massive corals, appearing awestruck and unable to believe their eyes. The following day, Ard and the others headed home with Luca, bringing Tatiana along to the surface as the representative of the merman race to prepare for the war that would determine the fate of the world.

Elsewhere, Eva, Geoffrey, Mirea, Milia, and Thorena, who were carrying a letter for Bhadra, ascended to the surface to prepare the city of Whitdale. The dwarf army from the Kingdom of Grimgarth and the giant army from the Kingdom of Tartagia would emerge there before making their way to the capital.