NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34: Empress and General
Constantinople, Achilles' residence.
"You... you could restore it to this extent."
Aske, now dressed again, looked at the familiar furniture in the room and marveled.
These arrangements were all from his home before they were destroyed by the Church Knights, and now Peggy had restored them to about eighty or ninety percent. Including the silver candle holder on the table, the candles and incense on the walls, the oil paintings, although they looked relatively new, they were similar to his memories.
"I used to visit your home, do you remember?" Peggy asked.
Aske shook his head.
He had some vague impressions in his memory, but couldn't remember them clearly.
"Squad Leader, please stay." Peggy hugged his arm pleadingly, "Don't leave again, okay?"
Aske:..........
"Let me tell you a secret." Aske said mysteriously.
"What secret?" Peggy's eyes widened.
"Someone told you the same thing." Aske said.
Peggy:!!!
"Who is it?!" She asked, filled with murderous intent.
"Guess." Aske said.
"I can't guess!" Peggy tugged at his arm, "Quickly tell me, I want to kill her!"
"If you kill her, I'll be angry." Aske deliberately put on a stern face.
"Why?!" Peggy was furious, "So you already have someone you like, right? Who is she?!"
"Everyone." Aske replied.
"Eh?" Peggy was stunned.
"Since I returned, everyone has said the same thing to me." Aske said leisurely, "They want me to stay here and not leave again."
"Is that so?" Peggy suddenly realized, feeling both relieved and uneasy, "Then... what are you planning to do?"
"I'm still considering." Aske deliberately hesitated.
"But!" Hearing this, Peggy was suddenly anxious, her eyes tearing up again, "Why do you want to leave again?"
"Alas." Aske replied, "The reason I came back is because I miss everyone from The Azure Longsword. But I never expected to return and find out that The Azure Longsword no longer exists, and everyone is fighting against each other, which feels very strange and heartbreaking."
"What I miss already doesn't exist anymore." He sighed deeply.
"But, but..." Peggy was at a loss. She wanted to argue a few things, but in recent years, everyone's paths had indeed diverged significantly.
The territorial dispute between the Northern Realm and Divine Luo meant Eleanor and Sigrdrifa Medea had completely fallen out; the internal conflict over royal power and church power in Divine Luo symbolized the implicit division between Eleanor and Nora.
The Church's expansion in the Mediterranean threatened Mia and Miel's interests in the South Continent, evident in their fleets intercepting Church trade ships and even attacking Solomon City; as for Theodora and Peggy's side, they had clashed with Miel's forces due to Miel attempting to establish influence on Crete Island, targeting the commercial routes in the East Mediterranean.
To put it plainly, it had fallen into a near zero-sum game.
In the past, within The Azure Longsword Team, everyone's interests were completely aligned, allowing them to unite and collaborate without any reservations. But now, the camps, forces, and paths that everyone represented had already destined that they could never reunite...
"Aske." Peggy could only hold onto him, "Although the situation is a bit complicated, I think I can explain!"
She hadn't finished speaking when the door opened again from outside.
"Indeed, you're back, right?" Theodora pushed the door open, looking at the surprised Aske and the defensive Peggy, she laughed, "What happened, Peggy? Why suddenly hostile towards me?"
"Are you also here to steal the Squad Leader?" Peggy bared her teeth viciously.
"No, I'm here to help you keep him." Theodora said calmly.
Peggy was stunned once again, then her expression softened, and she nodded.
"You've grown up, Thira." Looking at the tall Theodora, Aske lamented.
Returning after six years, the changes were most evident in Theodora, whether in appearance, physique, or temperament, she was no longer like the youthful seventeen-year-old princess she once was.
Others, like Mia and Miel, changed their appearance but not their temperament; Eleanor and Nora changed their temperament but not their appearance.
For someone like Peggy with a stable physique, she was exactly the same as six years ago. Only when facing Theodora did Aske deeply feel the melancholy of change.
"Time changes many things, Squad Leader." Theodora pulled out a chair by the table, sat down and smiled, "But our feelings for you have not changed."
"Stay, Aske. I need a Co-Ruling Emperor beside my throne." She looked at the ill-faced Peggy beside her and quickly added, "Of course, Peggy needs someone by her side... she misses you."
"I miss all of you too." Aske sighed, feeling a bit guilty.
Theodora was slightly startled, keenly noticing that his "all of you" didn't just refer to herself and Peggy. Her stunning face showed an understanding cold smile:
"I see... it seems others have contacted you before us, right? Did they also propose to keep you? Offering love or even body as a reward?"
"I entered this world from Mont Blanc." Aske said tactfully.
"Ah, so Eleanor was first." Theodora nodded, teasingly, "How far did you two go? I just returned to Constantinople not long ago and heard an unconfirmed rumor: isn't that Princess married to someone?"
"So it was Eleanor!" Peggy suddenly stood up, "I'm going to kill her!"
But Aske grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
Having her hand held by him, Peggy sat back in a bashful manner and, in turn, grabbed Aske's hand.
"Who's the second one?" Theodora's eyes twitched uncontrollably as she looked at their tightly clasped hands, "Oh, later Eleanor seemed to have gone to protest with the Church, right? So was it the Church's Holy Daughter who took you, and you mixed with Nora?"
"So the one that needs to be killed is Nora!" Peggy stood up again trying to rush out, but was held by Aske—she leaned into Aske's embrace, still humming out of anger.
"Peggy, be more reserved!" Theodora angrily pounded the table.
"I want to kill them." Peggy said furiously, "But the Squad Leader is holding me, he won't let me go."
Aske: ???
Theodora:..........
"Anyway, I don't want you all to keep fighting like this." Aske held Peggy in his arms, speaking earnestly. She directly cuddled her body into his, her expression seemed like she was going to melt from happiness, "I came back this time to stop this from happening."
"Do you intend to rebuild The Azure Longsword?" Theodora looked at Peggy in his arms with an unpredictable expression, "Back then, I had no choice, but now I'm the Storm Empress. Do you still want to drag me to be a mercenary..."
"No." Aske shook his head, "I hope you all can reach an agreement. Represent your forces and interests, and reach a peace coexistence agreement."
Theodora was somewhat moved. Northern Realm, Eastern Luo, Church, Divine Luo, and The Azure Longsword, speaking of getting the five major powers to reach an agreement, this audacious statement could only be made by the Squad Leader...
Wait, if it's the Squad Leader, maybe it could actually be done.
"You..." she hesitated to ask, "Did they all agree?"
"Of course." Aske said confidently, "I believe they will make the right choice."