Claude was tongue-tied as he stared at Sheerah, who was leaning against the back of the bed. His blank stare made Sheerah wonder if there was something on her face.
His blank stare made Sheerah wonder if there was something on her face. She touched it and didn't find anything. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Claude shook his head to clear his mind. "No, you didn't think about the fact that he's His Imperial Majesty when you shot Magic Missile at him?"
"No," Sheerah replied matter-of-factly, "I hate him. What right does he have to call you a traitor?
Does he think everyone has to follow his orders just because he's high and mighty?
Plus, he was just a drunkard in my eyes. He wasn't much nobler than those drunken sailors in the taverns at the docks.
He even tried to kiss me with bloodshot eyes. When I pushed him away, he even told me not to resist or he'd send his soldiers to kill my family.
I threw a Magic Missile at him in a fit of rage. When he died, he didn't look any different from those scums I used to kill … "
Ugh … Claude was speechless and could only smile bitterly.
No one could have imagined that Prince Hansbach, who had been praised as a great general, would die such a useless death. Furthermore, he had been killed by Sheerah with just one Magic Missile for flirting with his first love. His death was truly not worth it.
Even Claude had thought that even if Hansbach's army was defeated, he'd rather commit suicide like the Conqueror Xiang Yu in his past life. He'd die tragically and gloriously, leaving his name in the annals of Freia's history as a tragic hero that would be passed down for thousands of years.
But who would have thought that he would die just like that? It was embarrassing to say it out loud!
It was no wonder that there were no further reports after news of Hansbach's death. Even the mastermind of the assassination wasn't clear.
After that, the four legions under him quickly divided up all the newly conquered territories. The cause of the death of the eldest prince was kept quiet just like that, which made people feel that it was ridiculous.
Sheerah was the only one who didn't know that her Magic Missile had actually changed the history of the entire eastern part of the continent.
If the first prince hadn't died, his four corps would have been tightly united under his command and the newly conquered land would have been impregnable. Shiks and Nasri wouldn't have dared to even think about trying to invade their new territory.
Perhaps in a few years, the eldest prince would launch another attack on the kingdom …
Claude couldn't help but sigh. Given his impression of Hansbach, he didn't think the prince would die so easily for such a reason.
Perhaps it was because of the defeat on the mainland and the retreat of Whitestag, the first prince was filled with rage and desperately needed to vent his anger.
Unfortunately, he chose the wrong target. Sheerah wasn't the kind of weak girl who could be bullied by him. Instead, she was a decisive female Mage. So, the eldest prince suffered a tragedy.
"And then you ran away?"
Claude asked, "Then why did you remember to take the gift box with the revolver on the table?"
"If I don't run, I'll just wait for death!"
Sheerah replied proudly, "That prince is clearly a coward with so many guards around him.
When I was brought in to see him, he was playing with the revolver while drinking.
After his guards confirmed that I didn't have any weapons on me, he breathed a sigh of relief and told the hidden guards to stay away from the room. That's when I felt that something was off.
Also, it's not like I didn't play with revolvers when I was on the western coast of Nubissia.
A female magus I knew stole two revolvers and a few dozen bullets from the governor's manor.
When we went exploring the mountains, those two revolvers helped us a lot. Unfortunately, we ran out of bullets and had to throw them away.
Now that I saw such a weapon in front of me, I naturally took it and ran.
However, as soon as I escaped from the mansion, the guards inside discovered that the Crown Prince was already dead. They madly chased after me, refusing to let me go.
With Black Wind's help, I killed four or five of the fastest pursuers before sneaking to the docks and hijacking a small fishing boat to escape the port that very night.
When I was on the boat, I suddenly remembered that you said your home was in Whitestag, so I forced the fishing boat to travel along the coastline for more than a month to get there.
When I arrived, all I saw in Whitestag was a wasteland. I asked many people but none of them knew your name or where your home was.
Later, an old man told me that Whitestag didn't have any of its original residents anymore. The army of the eldest prince and second prince had fought there for nearly a year and a half. The original residents had either died or fled the city. Those who remained were refugees from other places, so no one knew the original situation in Whitestag.
Then, the old man told me that many of the residents of Whitestag had fled to the prefectural cities of the three southwestern prefectures to seek refuge with their relatives and friends.
I was a little tempted and was about to set off.
But somehow, the eldest prince's guards chased me and wanted to kill me. I had no choice but to flee. In the next half a year, I practically ran all over the eastern part of Freia, but I couldn't shake off those damned rabid dogs no matter what. "
Sheerah was a little emotional as she recounted how she had been hunted down. She couldn't understand how she had been hunted down for three years after killing a drunken prince who was acting like a hooligan. Those guards of the eldest prince were like rabid dogs that wouldn't let go of her.
Fortunately, she wasn't one to be trifled with. Even though she suffered quite a bit in the past three years, the rabid dogs that chased her were reduced by half with Black Wind's help.
Claude had no choice but to console her. The truth was as the two dying agents had confessed. Prince Hansbach was killed by Sheila under their tight guard and managed to escape. It was a lifelong humiliation for the agents and they could only wash away the shame by killing Sheila.
During the chase, more and more of their comrades died, which only increased the hatred between them. Now, the only thing that kept them going was revenge.
Sheila didn't understand why the rabid dogs would always track her down after she shook them off. The reason was obvious to Claude.
For example, when she hijacked a fishing boat to reach Whitestag, Sheila didn't think anyone would notice her.
But to the agents of the kingdom's special department, it was an obvious lead.
It was simple. They would lock down the entire port and investigate every single place. That way, the disappearance of the fishing boat would be discovered very quickly.
The fishing boat could only sail in shallow waters, so it wouldn't take long for them to find it by following the coastline.
The fishing boat that Sheila hijacked would always stop at a fishing village near the coastline to get supplies. Once they found the fishing village, they would be able to find the fishing boat's destination.
As for what Sheila said about not being able to shake off her pursuers even after half a year, that was even easier to explain.
First of all, the agents of the kingdom's special department were experts in dealing with all sorts of rogue magi. That was how the special department was set up, so it was only natural that they had a knack for tracking down magi. Sheila wouldn't be able to shake them off that easily.
Furthermore, the eastern part of Freia was like their home turf to the kingdom's special department. There were spies and informants lurking everywhere.
As long as Sheerah entered a town to buy food or something, she would soon be discovered. Then, people would swarm after her. In the end, they would return to hunting mode, and Sheerah would have to escape into the forest or the wilderness to get rid of the people chasing after her …
Sheila came to a realization. "So that's how it is. No wonder I found a long distance ship and went to the west coast to look for my rogue magi companions. That way, I could live in peace for three months."
No matter how powerful the special department was, they couldn't send their spies and informants to the colonies on the west coast of Nubissia.
Sheila's trip to the west coast had indeed caught the special department off guard, and they couldn't track her down.
By the time the agents who were after her reached the West Coast and found Sheerah again, three months had passed.
The three months of peace had made Sheila let her guard down, thinking that the matter was over.
But in a moment of carelessness, she was surrounded by her pursuers.
If it weren't for Black Wind's early warning, Sheerah might have died in that siege.
But while she managed to escape, the rogue magi couple who had helped her and taken her in were beaten to death in their home.
Only then did Sheerah realize how much the rabid dogs who were chasing her hated her. Only when one of them was completely defeated could this matter be resolved.
However, she couldn't fight a pack of wolves alone. While she was a fifth-ring nature magus, the magi chasing her weren't any weaker than her. At the very least, they could use energy barriers.
As long as they couldn't kill her with a single spell, she would attract even more attacks. In the end, both sides would have to rely on firearms to deal with their enemies.
Sheila had once set up a trap and used the garrison forces of the west coast colonies to annihilate a small group of people chasing after her.
But the mad dogs who hunted her soon returned the favor by pretending to be her and committing murders in the colonies of the West Coast, making her a wanted criminal in each of the colonies, and forcing her to live in seclusion in the towns of the colonies where she could not hide from them.
Claude hugged her gently in his arms and stroked her hair.
He couldn't imagine how Sheila had survived the past two years in the west coast colonies.
Sheila had battled with her pursuers for more than two years in the west coast colonies, and only half of the original forty or so pursuers were left.
Seeing that more and more cities were searching for her, she couldn't stay on the west coast any longer. So, she boarded a passenger ship heading for the autonomous region.
In order to confuse her pursuers, she purposely disembarked at the farthest port of Cobicus in the state of Tyrrsim instead of Port Vebator or Port Patres, buying herself more than half a month's time.
But as soon as she settled down in Lanu, the pursuers arrived.
Fortunately, the good law and order of the Overseas Dominion prevented the pursuers from attacking her in broad daylight like they did in the colonies on the West Coast. They could only attack her rented house in the dead of night.
Sheila, who was prepared, didn't back down either. She left some clues behind to mislead the pursuers into thinking that she had fled.
After the pursuers left to pursue the clues, Sheerah returned to her residence and killed the two pursuers who stayed behind with two shots. She then used the gunshots to attract the patrolling police, forcing the pursuers who realized that they had been tricked to stop attacking, and she quietly escaped from the scene.
Sheerah then hid in another hideout she rented next to the station, planning to use the train to shake off the pursuers' pursuers.
Even though the pursuers were being chased by the patrolling police, they had predicted Sheila's next move and rushed to the Dorinibla River to set up scouts at the bridge.
Thus, when the train arrived at the small station by the river and the passengers got off to cross the pontoon bridge, Sheerah was discovered by the pursuers.
Claude had already imagined what would happen next based on the testimony of the two dying operatives. After confirming that Sheila got on the train, the pursuers also bought tickets and boarded the train at the station.
After the train started moving and made sure no one got off, they started searching the carriages one by one.
The train staff who tried to stop them were killed on the spot. The gunshots alerted Sheila, who drew her gun and retaliated. The carriages became a battlefield until two of Claude's guards arrived and killed the pursuers as if they were robbers.
It was Claude's luck and Sheila's luck. The two of them were reunited after being separated for more than ten years.
But the good news for the two of them was the bad news for the Special Agents of the kingdom. They were caught as train robbers, and Sheerah was no longer worried about being hunted down. It also meant that Sheerah's murder of Prince Hansbach had finally come to an end, as if it was all part of fate's plan.
"It's all in the past now. We're together again. The future is long and we have plenty of time.
Sheila, the most important thing now is for you to recover. I'll protect you from now on. You don't have to worry about being chased anymore, "Claude comforted.
"What? I'm not worried about my safety.
What makes me happy is that I've finally found you.
I've always believed that you wouldn't die on the battlefield.
Do you know, when the prince called you a traitor in front of me, I was very happy. Because of that, I was sure that you were still alive and doing well.
Unfortunately, he didn't tell me where you were before he attacked me and told me not to resist. He even killed my whole family. I was so angry that I killed him … "
"Stop!"
Claude wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. "Sheila, don't mention the prince in front of others, okay?
No matter what, he was once a Sovereign King. Even if he was self-proclaimed Sovereign King and didn't receive the recognition of the various countries on the continent, he still deserved the title of Sovereign King based on his status.
If word of you killing him gets out, people might think of you as a king's killer.
No matter what, killing a king is a taboo in all the countries on the continent. I don't want your life to be negatively affected because of this … "
Fortunately, Sheila could listen to Claude's advice. She only muttered, "Fine, I won't mention it. I don't think killing him is any different from killing anyone else.
Even if he's a king, he doesn't have one more life than others. Anyone who can die from a single Magic Missile is a weakling … "
"By the way, Claude, you haven't been practising magic much, have you?" Sheila asked.
Claude nodded. "Indeed, I don't train much. You know that we rely on our guns and cannons on the battlefield. As a general, I have to command tens of thousands of men. Most of my energy is spent on commanding the troops to defeat the enemy.
I've been fighting Shiks all these years and haven't had much time or energy to practise meditation. I haven't even reached the fourth ring yet.
By the way, how did you know I haven't practised magic? "
Sheerah replied, "It's very simple. Last night, I fought those pursuers in the carriage, and I used all my magic power to maintain the energy shield and several ancillary spells. When I was brought here by your soldiers, I was heavily injured, and the remaining magic power I had was only enough to cast a few low-level Vine Entanglement spells.
"I wanted to use Vine Entanglement to restrain you and Black Wind to control you and use your lives to buy myself a way out.
"If you had practised magic, your level wouldn't be lower than mine. That way, you would be able to easily break free of the Vine Entanglement instead of being pressed to the ground and licked by Black Wind."
Claude could only smile bitterly, unable to defend himself.
Back when he and Sheerah had first met, his magic level was slightly higher than hers. Sheerah's Vine Entanglement spell had no effect on him at all, and he had easily broken free from it.
But now, she was a fifth ring nature magus. Her Vine Entanglement had a suppressive effect on Claude. He couldn't even move a finger and his feet were lifted off the ground.
Under such circumstances, even if Claude was a fourth ring magus, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Sheila. He wouldn't even be able to cast basic spells.
"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you.
I'll be by your side from now on to supervise your magic training and meditation. "
Sheila was in high spirits. She stared at Claude with her large, bright eyes. "Claude, you're in a high position now. You're no longer like you were when you were young.
You only told me about your experiences on the battlefield. You haven't told me about your family.
I believe we're different. I haven't been with another man all these years, so you must be married and have a family.
Tell me about your wife and children. How did you get married to her? How many children do you have now? "
Claude's forehead broke out in a cold sweat.