Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 816 - 148: Before Winter Sets In

As soon as the announcement was made, the entire Imperial Capital was in an uproar.

Especially for the common people, they had never been this close to the Royal Palace in their lifetime. Zophie queued for almost three hours before finally submitting her registration form.

This country is probably ill.

Her hatred for the Royal Family even wavered because of this, with curiosity gradually taking over. She only knew that Ethan and the Witch had left Duke Ash's estate early this morning and entered the Royal Palace at the invitation of the Third Princess. However, Zophie couldn't fathom what Ethan had said to the Third Princess and the King that resulted in such an absurd celebration.

At the same time, Zophie had to emphasize that her submission of the registration form was purely out of curiosity and not because she was worried about being put on the assassination list by the Winter General.

Ha, a dignified Assassin Master, the Imperial People's most skillful assassin, how could she possibly be worried about being targeted by other killers?

Back then, she was merely deceived by Ilya and got poisoned; otherwise, the Imperial Army couldn't possibly have captured her!

Just like now, she only did some basic disguising and swaggered into the most bustling area of the Imperial Capital.

"Mr. Fei Zuo, how many events do you plan on participating in?"

"Five."

Zophie blurted out.

As she said, she was absolutely not afraid of Winter General holding a grudge against her; she merely thought "5" was a very auspicious number that could help her comprehensively understand what Ethan was up to in the Royal Palace.

Meanwhile, Meiliya was spreading her arms, blocking the door to the inn's guest room.

"You're foolish! Haven't I told you it's a trap!"

She hid in the shadows the entire day yesterday and overheard the complete conversation between Ethan and Zophie. Considering Ethan's previous deeds, the Harvest Festival was clearly a trap designed to lure people in and kill them. Such a grand celebration immediately reminded her of some large-scale sacrificial rituals.

Meiliya felt she was getting closer to the truth—she vaguely guessed Ethan's identity.

That person was very likely an Evil God disguised in human skin!

The suspicion was immense!

She heard some stories about Evil Gods from the Other Shore and felt that young man completely matched every characteristic of an Evil God!

Meiliya never expected that when she told the conclusions drawn from her analysis to the Other Shore, that foolish woman would actually smile cheerfully, fill out the registration form, and eagerly want to participate in the celebration.

This damned nerve-racked personality.

She was scared to death last night, didn't sleep well after sneaking back to the inn.

"Meiliya."

The Other Shore spoke profoundly, "Given this, you should understand the seriousness of the situation, right?"

"Yes."

Meiliya nodded solemnly, she and the Other Shore spoke in unison:

"The worst result is the Royal Family may already be controlled by the Evil God and the Witch."

"The worst result is you may be placed on the assassination list by the Winter General, which would make this winter dangerous for you."

…

"Other Shore."

Meiliya took a deep breath.

She never belonged to people with particularly firm stances, coupled with not sleeping all last night, her mental state was already somewhat withered; she lowered her voice, sneakingly asked, "Is the Winter General really such a petty person?"

"Yes."

"Then… can I still register for five events now?"

"You can."

The Other Shore's answer let Meiliya breathe a sigh of relief; she instantly discarded her plan to obstruct the Other Shore's decision. Given her form was unsuitable for sudden public appearances, after quickly filling out the registration form, she stuffed the form into the Other Shore's hand, "Could you also submit the form for me?"

With that, she directed her attention to the little maid Lisi, "Little girl, I'll rely on you for the competition at the celebration."

"Eh?"

"When the time comes, I'll possess you; I'll strike as a spirit from behind."

The Other Shore took the registration form and walked towards the inn's downstairs. Perhaps due to the recent improvement in the atmosphere of the Imperial Capital, she felt the sunshine had become much brighter; this warm feeling was not often seen in the approaching winter season.

Before she had walked a few steps, she saw a familiar figure in the alley.

With the same fiery red hair as hers, dressed in Imperial Army standard silver armor, a Knight's Sword at the waist.

The man stood with arms crossed, leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting here for quite some time.

"Yo, Old Sai."

The Other Shore actively greeted the other person.

Imperial Army Commander Cedric Thorn was a celebrity in the Imperial Capital; just a little inquiry could glean his name and the legendary tales bursting with color.

Since Cedric enlisted, the Imperial Army under his command had never lost any battle, for the Silver Radiance Empire, he was the undefeated general, Henry VI's blade; during his ruling period, he cleared countless rebellions for the Royal Family, conquered several countries, planting the Empire's flag on the Western Continent across the ocean.

For enemy troops, Cedric was the most fearsome enemy; just hearing his name was enough to make many soldiers from enemy countries flee, shedding their armor, dispersing in panic.

Cedric Thorn, who was resting with closed eyes, squinted an eye; he tossed the tomato cheese bread brought from the bakery lightly towards the Other Shore.

In recent days, the two often met, bread snacks had replaced talking, becoming their mutual conversation method.

But this time, Cedric spoke up.

"I'll wait for you in the Royal Palace, by then, it'll be you and me, sword against sword."

The Other Shore took the bread bag, walked past Cedric shoulder-to-shoulder, heading towards the crowds outside the registration place, she raised the hand holding the bread bag, everything went unsaid.

Meanwhile, within the Royal Palace, Holy Mage Ilya had just completed her registration ritual; she approached the Third Princess with a complex mind.

She heard the Harvest Festival was held under the Third Princess' thrust.

Lately, her good friend had changed enormously too, akin to Duke Ash and Fabius, every word and action felt like another person, a... benevolent person, which was the kind of figure Imperial People anticipated.

They hoped the Empire's Third Princess was a kind-hearted, caring person.

But in reality, the Third Princess had been a frequent visitor to the Simpler Clan since she was three; she had a deep personal acquaintance with Fabius. Since then, Fabius would often invite the Third Princess to the dungeon at their estate to observe interrogations and penal ceremonies; he even invited her to personally experience various execution tools during introductions.

And now, she convinced her father to hold this celebration for the "Imperial People".

To pray for the "Imperial People".

Ilya also heard some news, such as Ethan and the white-haired Witch left Duke Ash's residence this morning and moved into the Royal Palace at the Third Princess' invitation; before the Harvest Festival ended, they'd serve as consultants for this celebration.

"I heard about the rewards for this event's winners."

Ilya never imagined that even His Majesty Henry was persuaded; "His Majesty Henry will personally grant the winner a 'Spark'."

When this news spread among nobles, everyone went into a frenzy.

Registrants no longer limited to youth; even some elders put their pride aside to immerse themselves into this celebration.

They all understood the significance behind being granted a spark, and this traditional imperial ceremony had ceased for over a hundred years, indirectly indicating Henry VI's endorsement of the celebration.

Ilya couldn't fathom what Ethan might have said to the Third Princess that resulted in such a transformation.

"Exactly, that's how it is."

The Third Princess' face appeared with a graceful smile, just like the gentle image people imagined.

However, to Ilya, it was an extremely unfamiliar smile.

"But... why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you suddenly holding a celebration."

"To pray."

The Third Princess spoke in an expected tone, "As the Royal Family, isn't it our duty to seek blessings for the Empire's people?"