Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Maria glanced at her. Tu Nan said nothing.

“You may leave for now,” she said to the people beside her. “And while you’re at it, please ask Miss Emily Charles to come here. Tell her I have something to discuss with her.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The Maid and the Tailor respectfully withdrew.

Maria walked over and sat down beside Tu Nan. She gave her a lazy look. “What is it you want my help with?”

As she spoke, she poured herself a cup of black tea, lifted it to her lips, and took a sip.

“I want to marry Dennis,” Tu Nan said, concise and to the point.

“Pfft-” Maria sprayed out the tea in her mouth.

She frowned, set down the cup in her hand, picked up a handkerchief, and wiped at the tea that had accidentally splashed onto her clothes with a look of distaste. Only then did she turn to Tu Nan, sizing her up from head to toe.

“Is there really any need to be that surprised?” Tu Nan said with a smile.

“Have you lost your mind?” Maria looked at her suspiciously. “Or has something taken control of your body?”

“I’m perfectly lucid.” Tu Nan shrugged. “As for whether something has taken control of my body, you should know that better than anyone.”

Those who had eaten the apple shared a subtle connection with each other, a feeling that could not be imitated or replicated.

“I’d rather believe you’ve lost your mind.” Maria, who had always held herself to extremely strict standards in word and deed, actually couldn’t help rolling her eyes again.

“Forgive me, but I don’t quite understand your reasoning.” Thinking of Dennis’s usual words and behavior, she frowned in disgust. “If you simply like his fairly decent looks, I can find you someone better.”

“I don’t care about looks,” Tu Nan said honestly. “What I care about is his status.”

Maria froze. “You don’t seem like the sort of person who values such things.”

Tu Nan couldn’t reveal the real reason she wanted to marry Dennis, so she could only make something up with a straight face. “No. Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of marrying a Prince.”

Maria’s brows had been tightly furrowed ever since just now.

After hesitating for a while, she finally said with some reluctance, “All right. Since this is what you want, once I inherit the throne, I will issue an order for Dennis to take you as his wife.”

After receiving that definite answer, Tu Nan finally curled her lips in satisfaction.

She realized she had been wrong from the very beginning.

She had no need to curry favor with any Prince at all, nor did she need to put on a pleasant face for them. As long as she possessed absolute power, they simply had no room to refuse.

She could marry whoever she wanted. After all, to her, this was only a mission. Sooner or later, she would leave.

“Your Highness, Miss Charles has arrived.” There was a gentle knock at the door, and the Maid’s voice came from outside.

Maria rose and personally invited Emily in.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Miss Charles,” Maria said with a smile. “I wonder if you were satisfied with my performance today?”

Tu Nan also rose and nodded to Emily in greeting.

Emily’s gaze shifted between the two of them. She raised an eyebrow. “I have to admit, you always manage to surprise me.”

“Let’s sit and talk.” Maria made an inviting gesture.

The three of them sat facing one another.

“I’m truly curious. How did you do it?” Emily asked impatiently. “Could there really be some god in existence?”

“Perhaps there is, and perhaps there isn’t.” Tu Nan thought of the black ashes scattered by the wind. “He exists only in the hearts of those who believe He exists.”
In other words, as long as you didn’t believe He existed, then He did not exist.

If the one burned to charcoal today had not been the King, but someone who did not believe in gods at all, perhaps that Woman from the Church would have continued endlessly as an ignorant, unfeeling Nun, waiting for the next believer to be burned to death in the flames.

Emily looked at her, seeming to understand and not understand at the same time.

Tu Nan knew she wanted to know more, but she only poured her a cup of tea and gently pushed it over.

“Everyone has secrets.”

“All right.” Emily accepted that answer readily. “I don’t care about the process, only the result. At least I’m very satisfied with this result.”

“In that case, are you willing to form an alliance with me?” Maria asked with a smile.

“I am inclined to.” Emily sighed. “It’s just that this is a matter of great importance. I find it difficult to be certain whether, in the future, you might decide to discard me once I’ve served my purpose.”

She stared straight at Maria. The meaning in her words was clear-she needed a guarantee.

But no one could guarantee what the future would become.

She was afraid Maria might one day burn the bridge after crossing it. Was Maria not equally worried that she might have ulterior motives?

Tu Nan’s gaze shifted between the two of them. Then she suddenly said, “I have an idea.”

Both of them looked at her in unison.

Tu Nan took out an apple.

Maria’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, while Emily looked utterly confused.

“An apple?” she asked. “This is your idea?”

“This is no ordinary apple,” Tu Nan said solemnly. “This is a magical apple.”

Emily: “…”

Tu Nan cleared her throat softly. “Two people who eat the same apple will be loyal to each other and never betray one another.”

Distrust showed plainly in Emily’s eyes.

“At least one thing was true back at the Church.” Maria picked up the apple and took the first bite.

There was a crisp crunch.

She handed the apple she had bitten to Emily and said with a smile, “I am indeed a Witch. For a Witch, possessing an apple like this does not seem especially strange.”

“Emily, do you remember what you said to me?” Tu Nan reminded her softly. “I don’t need you to repay me for anything, but I ask you to trust me.”

Emily glanced at Tu Nan, hesitated, and accepted the apple. Maria had already taken the first bite, proving her sincerity.

She brought the apple to her mouth and bit into it lightly.

Sweet apple juice burst across her tongue, and the fresh fragrance of apple filled her mouth and nose.

The instant she bit down, an indescribable sensation connected her and Maria.

They could trust each other.

Emily looked at the apple in her hand and raised her brows in surprise.

She placed the apple on the table, then extended her hand toward Maria. Her voice was very soft, yet very firm. “Here’s to a pleasant partnership.”

“A pleasant partnership.” Maria clasped her outstretched hand.

–

“When did Nemesis give you an apple?”

After Emily left, Maria could not help asking.

“She didn’t give it to me.” Tu Nan smiled faintly.

This apple had been slipped to her by Xu Duoyi just now.

Back then, in the forest, she had deliberately fed the Fairy Tale Compendium a mouthful of wolf fur. The Fairy Tale Compendium had spat out quite a few useless cards, and she had given them all to Xu Duoyi. Xu Duoyi had not disappointed her expectations-she had really managed to grow the apples.

…

“Your Highness, Prince Tracy is here.”