Chapter 347.
Chapter 347 Going Home
Familiar cloisters, familiar gardens.
Erin’s eyes widened as she looked at everything familiar, more than a year and a half away from home, basically nothing had changed in the palace.
She took Leah with her and hurriedly crossed a corridor, hurrying towards the Queen’s chambers.
“Your Highness?” , “Her Highness Irene?” , “Thank you Heavenly Father!” ……
Along the way met the palace servants have revealed surprise expression, the little princess suddenly disappeared, the public saying is to go to Gabella’s relatives home to live, but not to more than a year do not come back to see it, anyone can guess that absolutely something happened. Irene usually treat the subordinates very gentle and friendly, they naturally do not want to happen to the little princess what bad things, now see her safe and sound reappeared in the palace, each encountered her people are from the heart of the lungs of a long sigh of relief.
Irene smiled at every servant who saluted her, but her steps did not slow down at all.
Finally, she arrived at the palace room that had haunted her, and the figure of a woman appeared at the gate.
“Mother!” Irene cried out and threw herself into Queen Felice’s arms.
The Queen embraced the Princess tightly, unable to utter a single word, the two lines of clear tears on her cheeks illustrated the excitement within her heart, and the surrounding female officials and servants followed suit and wiped their tears.
Velos had sent someone to run wildly around the clock to report to Jingyao after disembarking, so Queen Felice had already known the news that Irene had returned. However, in order to avoid any complications, no one told the Queen and her party that they almost encountered pirates.
“Erin …… my baby …… how could you be so cruel ……”
“I’m sorry, mother, I should have come back earlier.”
The mother and daughter embraced each other for a long time before they separated under the persuasion of the people around them.
The female guard, Leah, suddenly knelt down on one knee to the Queen and said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, please punish me for the sins I have committed.”
Queen Felice stared at her for a long time, shook her head and said, “No, you are not guilty. Leah, Irene is the sovereign you serve, and it was her, not you, who decided to run away from home-though I don’t want to see such a thing. And you …… have faithfully fulfilled the duties expected of a knight.”
“Your Majesty …… the Queen,” Leah said, still not raising her head, her voice a little choked.
Queen Felice picked up the female knight with both hands, “Rise, loyal knight, and look who has come to see you.”
Leah’s gaze crossed over to the Queen and a pair of figures caught her eye.
“Father! Mother!”
She cried out in surprise.
“Leah!” “My daughter!”
The family of three hugged each other tightly.
……
In the side hall of the palace, King Rodney was discussing the specifics of the Northwest Fleet with father and son Abbott.
“Your Majesty, the Northwest Fleet is equipped with powerful weapons, and they have a wealth of experience in dealing with pirates, when I first arrived at the Northwest Gulf, it was also ravaged by pirates, but it was wiped out in less than half a year. 啊…… Of course, this time, of course, we still have to rely on the regular army of the kingdom under your majesty’s command, and that gang of Northwesterners will surely fall under your majesty’s divine might.”
Hansel was talking eloquently, as if the defeat of the pirates had already been determined as long as the two armies combined their efforts.
“Well, I also have some knowledge about how Count Gleiman eliminated the pirates.”
The king thoughtfully, “Heh, although he is young, indeed a capable lord ah. By the way …… Hansel, it is said that Earl Gleiman invented a weapon that can breathe fire with outstanding effect, do you know anything about it?”
“Uh …… this ……. Your Majesty, actually the official name should be called artillery and musket, a big one and a small one. It’s just …… just ……” Hansel said hesitantly, “Count Gleiman is very strict in his comparison to secrecy, and it’s hard to know the specifics when you’re not in the Arda army.”
“Well …… okay.” Rodney did not pursue the question, the larger nobles which do not have their own secrets, some things even the king can not force each other to reveal.
At this time an attendant officer hurriedly ran to, paid in Rodney’s ear quietly said a few words.
Hansel very obviously felt, just now also majestic full of the king suddenly not calm, his facial expression became excited, can see the vast majority is happy, but also mixed with a few points …… is anger? This is a bit puzzling.
“Ahem ……”
King Rodney cleared his throat and regained his previous majesty and composure.
He said to Hansel’s father, “Secretary Abbott, that’s enough for today, your son has done well.”
Old Abbott quickly stood up and humbled himself, “Your Majesty is flattered.”
The king turned to Hansel again, “I will hand you a written order tomorrow, take it to the local magistrate in Kiel Harbor and he will cooperate with you in the matter of repairing and resupplying the Northwest Fleet.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Hansel replied respectfully.
“Then, you will return to rest.”
The King stood up, ending the audience, and the Abbott boys watched Rodney leave the side hall through a side door.
King Rodney sped up his walk as soon as he was out of sight of Father Abbott and Son, and the attendant guards scrambled to keep up with him.
He came all the way to the Queen’s chambers before stopping and slightly straightening his attire before striding unhurriedly into it.
Entering the sitting room in the chambers, he finally saw the person he wanted to see – Erin was snuggled up next to her mother, and the two of them were talking to each other.
“Your Majesty, you’re here.” The female knight Leia’s parents noticed the king enter and immediately came forward to pay their respects.
It was only then that Erin noticed her father coming in, and she scrambled to her feet, but didn’t dare to look directly at Rodney. Hand-wringing, a bit like a child who had done something wrong – and in a sense, she had indeed done something wrong.
Queen Phyllis hurried to her husband’s side, glared at him, and whispered a warning, “Don’t frighten the child.”
The king muttered, “I know.”
He came to Eileen’s side, looked at his daughter who was anxiously lowering her head, stretched out his hand and gently stroked her little head, and said in a tone of mixed reproach and guilt: “You silly child, why did you run away without saying a word, do you know how much your mother has been worrying about you in these days?”
“Father.” The king’s touch made Erin let go of all the stigma in her heart, and she rushed into her father’s embrace, the long-lost warmth returning to her body.
“I was afraid.” Erin choked back tears, “I was scared, I was really scared.”
“That fear was not the usual fear of being chastised by you for doing something wrong, but an unspoken fear.”
“I know …… I know ……,” the king slowly repeated, his heart of guilt grew even stronger.
“I will never …… again,” he was just about to say this, but he did not say it; when the interests of his country and the happiness of his daughter were once more before his eyes to be weighed in the balance, what choice would he make after all?
“Father in heaven! Punish me.” Rodney murmured in his heart.
(End of chapter)