Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 144

"You're really something," the other person said.

The man with the linen bow tie and straw rope wristband remained silent, then produced two silver dragon coins. "Keep the change," he said, leaving his seat and walking away.

The man hurriedly walked outside the tavern, saw the figure, and quickly chased after it.

The woman walked quickly, stopping only in a small alley. The man finally gave chase, and as soon as he caught up, he knelt down, saying, "Your Highness."

“I am just an ordinary citizen now,” Isabel said.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the man asked.

The man with a burlap bow tie and a straw rope wrapped around his hand was the vegetable vendor that Isabel and Ronan had encountered on their way to see a stage play. At that time, he was wearing burlap clothes, without even trousers, and could only tie a straw rope around his waist and wear straw sandals.

Later, Isabel helped him out by introducing him to several people.

Now, he is one of the biggest vegetable vendors around the capital.

Isabel smiled. "No need, I'm fine. If you have money, please take care of the poor."

“Your Highness, many poor people in the capital are on your side. Although we are insignificant, but…” The man was about to say “but” when Isabel slapped his arm, interrupting him.

“I’ve recently come to realize that you can’t rely on others; you have to rely on yourself,” Isabel said. “So, you understand that someone like me is not someone you can rely on, much less someone you can support.”

"Don't overthink it. Live your life well and reach out to those who were as humble as you were back then. There aren't many people like you who have risen through the social ladder and still remember the past."

Isabel remarked.

The man couldn't stop sobbing and didn't know what to say. After a long while, he remembered something and asked, "Who was that gentleman back then?"

“Him? He’s the Ronan Artes you were just talking about,” Isabel replied.

The man was stunned. When he tried to ask more questions, he found that Isabel had disappeared.

Five days later, Ronan and Ambrina's engagement ceremony took place.

The Freigo family originated in the Black Forest region of the Will Empire, a place that, to put it nicely, is a source of elite mercenaries, but to put it bluntly, is a bunch of barbarians.

Therefore, after entering the Kingdom of Fass and becoming royalty, the Freigo family basically adopted all French etiquette, including wedding customs.

However, the founding monarch, Aurang, deliberately separated the engagement ceremony and implemented his own traditional system.

Therefore, this engagement ceremony included some special elements.

Chapter 327 Old Wedding Customs, Family and Friends Group, One Against Three

The Freigo family's ancestors were the largest lords in the Black Forest region. Although they held the highest status in the area and had many subordinates, and at first glance they sounded like earls with great prestige, they were actually quite rustic. Or rather, there were few people in that area who weren't rustic more than three hundred years ago.

Even when the children of a lord of this rank get married, the wedding is simply officiated by the local bishop. The process is not complicated. After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom's families, along with the vassals invited by the lord, start a lively banquet. The vassals have given gifts, and they will not go back without making a good scene at the lord's place, eating and taking gifts for several days.

The "trouble" is a crucial part of the event, and one of the activities involves the groom's friends and his father-in-law's men posing as a gang of thieves to kidnap the bride. The groom must use his strength to bring her back. Although the fake gang of thieves will likely go easy on him, a groom without any real skill is bound to embarrass himself.

It must be said that this is a place brimming with martial spirit.

Later, Oranse modified this and placed it in the engagement ceremony. The bride would no longer be tied up; she could just stay in one place and watch, while the groom would fight three people by himself.

At this moment, Ronan also needs to complete this step before he can put the engagement ring on Ambrina's finger.

Although Ronan's family members could not be found, he did have relatives, but Ronan did not intend to elevate them. He was the "royal consort," not a "relative by marriage," a tacit understanding between him and his father-in-law. Therefore, Elena and Alice played the roles of Ronan's relatives, while Dinia and Agustina played the roles of Ronan's friends, forming a support group.

Then Lucien selected three people: Agustina, Karl, and Dinia.

"No, Your Majesty, how can we fight like this?"

Ronan's face was twitching on one side.

The three people are Agustina, Carl, who had helped Ronan a lot in New Sea City, and Dinia, a relative and friend.

Forget about the first two; they're both third-tier elemental mages, one with a single fire spell and the other with water and wind spells. Ronan was confident he could handle them, but Dinia was going to kill him.

King Lucien, however, was quite pleased. "I can't just let you take my daughter away like this, can I?"

On the other side, Ambrina sat surrounded by three maids, watching Ronan's performance.

The three maids were not her personal maids, but only maids who served her when she went out. One was responsible for holding an umbrella and contacting the coachman, another was responsible for holding her skirt and doing other odd jobs, and the third did miscellaneous tasks such as serving tea and water.

Now that she has become Crown Princess, Ambrina has dozens of maids.

Dinia said to Ronan, "Don't worry, I won't make the first move, and even if I do, I won't take it too seriously."

Ronan thought to himself, "If you were to get serious, you could turn this royal garden upside down, leaving not a trace of dust."

“Let’s begin, Ronan,” Carl said, looking impatient.

Ronan let out a sigh of relief, with a hint of helplessness. "You're a married man now, don't be so excited like a young person, okay? Besides, you're here on a mission, aren't you?"

Karl chuckled. "Ha, I'm currently on the verge of breaking through to the fourth tier, and perhaps this battle will be the turning point. As for matters, if we can reach an agreement, my attitude won't matter; if we can't, my standing still won't make a difference, right?"

It must be said that Carl understands Ronan quite well.

Ronan looked at Agustina, who shrugged and said, "The commander said that if I act, I should get as far away from you as possible."

Ronan had nothing more to say, and he, Agustina, Karl, and Dinia arrived at the island in the middle of the lake in the garden.

Subsequently, Lucien and several servants, Ambrina and her maid, as well as Elena and Alice, also came ashore.

This island is quite large and surrounded by lake water. The island has a very regular shape and looks like an artificial island in the middle of the lake, but it is not.

Long ago, this island was the residence of the chieftain of the Phos tribe and also served as an arena for martial arts competitions. After Oran ascended the throne, he renovated the island, and after Lawrence, a royal garden was built centered around it.

This island is the birthplace of the Phas people and the origin of the Phas Kingdom.

In the language of the Old Empire, "phass" means spear.

The Phas people of that era were actually a fishing and hunting people, completely unrelated to the romantic and artistic peoples of the Western Continent today. The barbaric Phas people were armed with only a spear and a few javelins, and when they went to war, they would charge forward. Starting from this island, they gradually grew into a large and numerous people.

Although the Freigo family were not actually from the Fass, they attached great importance to this place in order to demonstrate their legitimacy.

On the island, the battle has begun.

Karl turned the ground into a swamp right from the start; it's safe to say that every water elementalist likes to use this move when facing a melee mage.

Ronan wasn't afraid; standing on the floating shield, his mobility wasn't affected at all. However, this also weakened him, because the shield, as a movement tool, couldn't be used as a defensive tool.

Although he was still wearing armor, unlike a shield, the armor did not have its own magic reserves. Every time the armor absorbed damage, it consumed his own magic.

"Let's solve one of them first."

Ronan set his sights on Agustina.

Carl is water-wind; water is stable, while Ray has built-in body acceleration. Back then, he was somewhat overwhelmed by the numerous imitations of the Illusionary Melody in that tunnel, but now that he's in the open area, Ronan's current speed makes it difficult for him to catch up with him in one go.

Of course, Agustina is not an easy opponent either. A characteristic of single-elemental mages is that their magic is powerful, and Agustina herself is a skill-based mage who has no regard for martial ethics.

The spinning sword tricked Agustina into releasing her defense, and in the blink of an eye, Ronan was in front of Agustina, while the spinning sword returned to his hand.

A sword was swung out.

Agustina crossed her arms, and flames formed arm armor on her arms, blocking the sword strike.

At the same time, a fireball was fired, heading straight for Ronan's face.

This is a third-tier elemental mage. Their body surface possesses extremely strong elemental affinity, allowing them to partially elementalize the surface while remaining unaffected by their own elemental magic.

Ronan's invisible magical armor withstood the attack, and he forced his way through Agustina's defenses with a single sword strike.

In the distance, Dinia sat in a mushroom-made armchair watching the show, just as she herself had said, she wouldn't make a move right away.

However, Carl had no intention of watching the show. Two bolts of lightning struck Ronan from both sides, forcing him to retreat.

Ronan had no choice but to back down. "Two against one?"

“It was originally three against one,” Karl replied from a distance. At the same time, three water dragons rose from the lake at the edge of the island and rushed toward Ronan.

Agustina breathed a slight sigh of relief, removed her blindfold, and entered a state of surging magic. Standing in place, she continuously unleashed fireballs from her hands, which resembled two cannons.

Ronan was chased by fireballs like a circus performer, constantly having to stop and turn abruptly to dodge the oncoming water dragons studded with lightning.

Chapter 328 One-on-One Duel, Fishing, Immortality

Agustina and Karl worked together, and although both were quite restrained, it reminded Ronan of the scene when he encountered the fifth-tier elemental mage with half his face disfigured in the colony.

However, the two were two people who had never cooperated before. Ronan, with his superior mobility, was focused on dodging, and the two could not hit him.

Even if the two of them were together, they still wouldn't be as good as that person.

This continued for quite some time before Agustina and Karl both stopped their attacks.

Ronan kept dodging, occasionally using his spinning sword to deliver a blow, which didn't take much to bear. However, the two of them were expending a lot of energy maintaining this offensive, so there was no need to continue.

"I'm taking a break." Agustina put her one-eyed eyepatch back on and stopped fighting.

Karl was the same.

Dinia stood up, reached out, and the mushroom chair transformed back into a battle axe, which flew into her hand. "I don't use ranged attack magic, come on."

Ronan jumped off the floating shield, sword and shield in hand, "Here."

Dinia raised the battle axe with one hand and pointed it at Ronan, "If you can last five minutes, or if you hit me, you pass."

"Ha, then I'll try my best to get through in five minutes." Ronan's words lacked any bravado, but his eyes were certainly serious.

Ronan didn't know what Dinya was thinking, but he himself felt that their relationship was complicated.

It's far more than a simple relationship like lovers or romantic partners.

There is definitely romantic love between men and women, whether spiritual or physical, but it doesn't account for a large proportion. There are also relationships between colleagues, comrades-in-arms, drinking buddies, and some more subtle ones. For example, Dinia is Ronan's boss, but in a sense, she is also Ronan's student, and on the other hand, the two are also rivals with whom he has disputes.

Actually, neither Ronan nor Ambrina were either.

Does Ambrina only see him as a lover? If so, that would be a gross underestimation of her.

"Still standing there dumbfounded in front of me." As Dinia said this, she swung her axe at me.

However, no matter how busy Ronan was, he maintained the habit of practicing three times a week, and he almost instinctively blocked this powerful blow.

The battle officially began, and without any probing, the scene became intense.

Ronan's figure was still barely visible as a human silhouette, but Dinia was no longer visible, only a rapidly moving red light.

Ronan was already very fast; his physical abilities were definitely among the best of all magicians of the same level. But Dinia was unparalleled in both speed and strength—no, she surpassed all other magicians of her level.

On the scene, the afterimage was constantly being hit by the red light, just like an Easter egg being hammered by dozens of people from different directions, looking like it was about to be shattered at any moment.

Ambrina couldn't help but feel worried for Ronan, and inwardly cursed Dinia. How could she be so ruthless when they had that kind of relationship? If it were her, she would never have been able to hit Ronan like that.

On the other side, King Lucien also showed a hint of anxiety, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his chair. He wasn't worried about Ronan, but rather because his and Ronan's plan seemed to have failed.

This engagement ceremony wasn't just about getting Ronan and Ambrina engaged; it also concealed a fishing scheme.

As king, how could Lucien not know about the Purple Robe organization?

He not only knew this, but also suspected that the leader of the organization was his eldest brother, or even his deceased second brother.

If it's his elder brother, then the target is him, the king, and Crown Princess Ambrina.

If it's his second brother, then the targets are Ronan and Dinah.

At this moment, the capital city has just experienced an "internal strife." This group of people have gathered on an isolated island, leaving the capital city vulnerable. On the surface, there seems to be no defense force around it, and there has been "internal strife." Regardless of who the purple-clad men are, now is the perfect opportunity for them.

However, Lucien never caught the fish he wanted.

"Sigh, it seems this hidden danger is beyond my control." Lucien sighed inwardly.

However, at the same time, he also completely ruled out the option that the leader of the purple-clad men was his eldest brother; the leader of the purple-clad men should be his second brother, who was already "dead."

If it were the eldest brother, if he didn't act now, he would never have another chance.

Now it seems, just as the intelligence indicated, that his second brother was indeed not interested in the throne; all he wanted was immortality.

At the same moment, thousands of miles away, in Egypt, where yellow sand swirled, inside a pyramid.

"Hahahaha." A handsome young man with a male body and a female appearance, unnaturally pale, and a blank expression on his face burst into laughter.

This handsome young man was none other than Lionel, the former second prince of the Kingdom of Phos, the second elder brother of the current King Lucien, and also the leader of the Purple Robe organization.

After Ronan and Dinia took the crystal skull skeleton, he didn't choose to try and steal it. On one hand, believing he had already embarked on the path to immortality, he was confident he would achieve it one day, so there was no need to risk his life. How could he achieve immortality if he risked his life? On the other hand, he didn't know that Ronan and Dinia had taken all the crystal skeletons and that there were still some left. He was also unsure whether killing Ronan would cause the crystal skeleton to disappear as well.

So he chose to come and get a substitute.

He discovered the crystal skeleton himself, and he had known about it for a long time.

Because these things were recorded in some forbidden books of the royal family, and Lawrence, the restorer of the monarchy more than a hundred years ago, was also pursuing immortality in his later years. The second prince at that time, Lionel, was actually half a crown prince, so he certainly had the opportunity to see these forbidden books. Not only did he see them, but he also took them all.

Having arrived here, seen the actual artifacts, and examined the not-so-difficult-to-understand hieroglyphs and murals on the stone walls, Lionel finally understood why Lawrence, despite knowing about this thing and possessing unparalleled talent, had quietly walked towards death after creating the prototype of the peculiar spell of soul transfer.

Because this thing, to be precise, is such a body, although it can hold a soul like a crystal skull, it doesn't cause a severe rejection reaction.

However, this will result in a significant loss of magic power, and all magic will be lost.