Chapter 20: The Emotional Idiot Princess

“…Miss Leisha?”

Ailundun chewed over the words, and the more he thought about it, the more familiar it felt.

“Hmm…”

Isabella turned her head, revealing a bright smile.

“But isn’t Miss Leisha perfectly normal?”

Ailundun was puzzled.

“Well… how to put it exactly? She always secretly follows me when I’m not paying attention… and looks at me with that strange expression, giving way to me in everything. It’s just a very peculiar feeling, just like some of the books I’ve read describe.”

Isabella looked up at Ailundun, her eyes suddenly becoming a little embarrassed.

“And so?”

Isabella’s cheeks flushed slightly.

This had been troubling her for a long time, and she never knew how to bring it up.

“Actually… actually, I feel that Leisha… likes me.”

Faced with Ailundun’s questioning, she hesitated for a moment before speaking haltingly.

Ailundun fell silent, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

‘Were those proper books you were reading?’

After a moment, he suddenly remembered something.

In the original story.

This Princess… seemed to be an emotional idiot.

The one with the problem probably wasn’t Leisha, but this Princess herself.

She mistook Leisha’s protective instincts towards her as romantic affection.

This was also related to Isabella being doted on for many years.

Whether it was the royal family or her playmates, no one didn’t adore this Princess.

In this Princess’s mind, she probably couldn’t imagine anyone not liking her.

This led to some errors in Isabella’s emotional judgment.

Simply put… it was an excess of self-awareness.

“If that’s true… then things are probably quite serious.”

Ailundun thought for a moment, his expression turning serious.

“Based on my experience, Miss Leisha might genuinely like you… and I mean romantically.”

“So it really is like that?”

Isabella lowered her head slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Ailundun fought hard to suppress his laughter.

He suddenly thought of a great idea.

A great way to exploit a bug in the Fate Roulette and farm rewards.

That was… to continuously create situations completely contrary to the original plot.

For example… making this Princess truly believe Miss Leisha had fallen in love with her.

Wouldn’t that completely throw the world’s trajectory into chaos?

The Fate Roulette only required him to change the world’s fate.

The greater the impact, the richer the reward.

It never said the future had to turn out a specific way.

“What should I do then? I don’t have those kinds of feelings for Leisha…”

Isabella hung her head, her expression dimming.

She wasn’t prepared to formally respond to a romantic relationship yet.

“If you don’t want to hurt Miss Leisha.”

Ailundun paused, observing Isabella’s expression.

“Then I recommend you find a member of the opposite sex to test Miss Leisha’s reaction…”

“Huh?”

Isabella was stunned.

“Because competition from the opposite sex often makes someone of the same sex realize their proper place.”

Ailundun tilted his head, speaking earnestly.

“That makes some sense, but I don’t think Leisha is the type to back down just because of someone of the opposite sex…”

Isabella nodded, recalling Leisha’s usual behavior, her expression turning subtle and helpless.

“How will you know if you don’t try?”

Ailundun said softly.

“I have a good idea.”

“What idea?”

Isabella’s eyes lit up, curious about Ailundun’s plan.

“We can form a team together for the practical exam. I’ll help you test Miss Leisha’s reaction to see if she’s really as you say.”

Ailundun held back the smile threatening to curl his lips.

‘A free substitute fighter, found just like that.’

“Hmm? How can that work? What about Miss Luofulei…”

Isabella covered her mouth.

She thought Ailundun had already teamed up with Luofulei.

“First, I guarantee Luofulei won’t mind. I swear it in the name of the Goddess…”

Ailundun declared righteously, his expression open and honest.

“Second, Miss Luofulei can also join our team.”

‘Swearing in the name of the Goddess doesn’t cost anything, so he could swear casually.’

‘And he didn’t specify which Goddess.’

‘Couldn’t the Life Mother Goddess also be considered a Goddess?’

“Hmm?”

Isabella tilted her head, confused.

Ailundun’s move was quite persuasive.

After all, not everyone dared to swear in the name of the Goddess.

In a world of sword and magic, swearing lightly could truly bring retribution.

So someone like Ailundun, who dared to swear in the Goddess’s name twice so casually, was truly rare.

“Sorry…”

Seeing Ailundun’s sincere expression.

Isabella immediately realized her misunderstanding and lowered her head with an apologetic look.

“It’s fine, Your Highness.”

Ailundun said softly, successfully suppressing his rising smile.

“In that case, we can indeed form a team. I happen to be lacking a Magic Engineer who can provide support…”

Isabella thought for a moment and didn’t refuse Ailundun’s offer.

In her view, the reason Ailundun sought her out.

Was probably because aside from Luofulei.

No one else was willing to team up with him.

As a Princess, she had a duty to help those in need.

“Your Highness, you truly are a kind and understanding Princess.”

Ailundun smiled sincerely.

“Thank you. I also have my own motives.”

Isabella’s golden eyes held a trace of shame, her clear voice tinged with embarrassment.

She knew her actions weren’t selfless, far from being as noble as Ailundun made them out to be.

‘Secured.’

Ailundun couldn’t help but think smugly.

Then, the two walked by the lake, allowing the gazes of passersby to fall upon them.

Those familiar with the Princess’s appearance looked on with clear surprise.

No one expected the noble Princess to be accompanied not by Leisha, but by a stranger.

The two walked like a pair of compatible companions, neither speaking again under these watchful eyes.

Ailundun very gentlemanly escorted Isabella to her residence.

As a Princess, Isabella’s accommodations were extremely luxurious.

A professional security team stood guard outside the main gate, and all entering personnel needed to be registered and checked.

Ailundun could only escort her to the entrance.

Returning to his own residence, Ailundun felt very relaxed and pleased.

Originally, he had been somewhat worried about the practical exam, fearing he might be assigned to an ultra-high difficulty group because of his previous results.

For example, being given a teammate who would throw the match, or having the exam difficulty drastically increased, like being pitted against a high-ranking Teacher as an opponent.

Now, with the presence of Isabella, this royal jewel.

No one would dare target him during the exam.

After all, targeting him would be equivalent to targeting the Princess as well.

No one would be foolish enough to do that.

If something like that really happened, he would have to have a good cry about it to Princess Isabella.

He had already looked into this year’s practical exam mechanics.

Students needed to form their own teams to fight against Examiners played by the Teachers.

Generally, a team needed a warrior, a mage, and a support.

Each role had a different position and responsibilities.

A good support could often play a more important role than the warrior or mage.

They were an indispensable part of a team.

Candidates were allowed to freely form teams, a rule tacitly approved by the Examination Hall.

Similarly, they would assess the team’s overall strength to assign stronger Teachers.

So in previous years, there were cases of top-ranking candidates from the second exam deliberately teaming up with lower-ranked candidates to lower the assigned Teacher’s strength.

Under this comprehensive adjustment.

It wasn’t true that a stronger team necessarily had an advantage over a weaker one.

As for candidates without a pre-formed team before the exam, they would be assigned by the Examination Hall.

Generally, students were grouped by their ranking from the previous exam, with top-ranked students in one team and lower-ranked students in another.

This made it easier to select Examiners of appropriate strength as opponents.

Of course, with the Crimson Thumb Ring, Ailundun wasn’t afraid of not finding teammates; he was afraid of being sabotaged.

The effects of that thing were enough to serve as the entire team’s control.

Just thinking about that terrifying list of negative effects…

Ailundun broke into a blissful smile.

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