Shiya’s pupils contracted, but before she could react, a young man with bloodshot eyes and a gaunt face rushed out of the house and shoved her aside.
“Ilya, go back to your room.”
The young man pulled Ilya behind him and raised his fist to strike Shiya’s face.
“Brother, can you please stop being so paranoid? Sister Shiya is a good person!”
Seeing that her brother was about to throw a punch, Ilya grabbed his arm, her voice choked with tears.
“Don’t hurt anyone else.”
“Ilya…”
The young man opened his mouth as if to explain something, but in the end, his arm dropped limply.
He let his sister’s tears soak his sleeve.
Shiya rubbed her sore shoulder as she watched this bizarre scene, staying cautious and not approaching to provoke the young man.
Unfortunately, not everyone had the decency to give the siblings their space.
“Oh my, what’s going on here? Yige’er, do we have a guest?”
A slightly greasy middle-aged voice rang out abruptly behind Shiya.
She turned to look and found a pair of mung-bean-sized eyes staring back at her.
The man was exceptionally obese, wearing a white undershirt, with rolls of fat forming a hypocritical smile on his face.
“Aiyo, Yige’er, did you find a new girlfriend? Let little Ilya come live at our place, that way she won’t get in your way… hehe.”
Yige’er’s face flushed red with anger.
He shook off Ilya’s hand and clenched his fist.
But the obese man gave him a dismissive glance and leisurely lit a cigarette.
“Anyway, my boy has grown up with your sister since they were kids. Let her move in, and they can get closer, right?”
“Bulu, don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming.”
No longer holding back, Yige’er kicked the middle-aged man in the stomach like an enraged bull.
But perhaps he lacked strength, or the man was too fat—his foot sank into that mass of fat, and as the man pushed back, it was rebounded instantly.
Yige’er lost his balance and nearly fell.
“Damn it, ungrateful bastard. You ruined my son, and you can’t even hold onto your own fiancée. Useless trash.”
The middle-aged man stepped forward and backhanded Yige’er, sending him to the ground.
Yige’er didn’t back down.
He lunged and tackled Bulu, and the two began to wrestle.
“Brother!”
Ilya tried to intervene, but a wild punch caught her square in the face.
Her small body jolted, and her head snapped back uncontrollably.
Shiya caught her from behind, but watching the two men brawling, she was at a loss.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and she decided to give it a try.
Mimicking the tone of that malicious young lady, she raised an eyebrow and asked coldly,
“As the bride of the god, are you trying to commit blasphemy by throwing a tantrum in front of me?”
For a moment, the other three were stunned.
Yige’er panted heavily, glancing at Shiya with less hostility than before.
Beside him, Ilya clutched her collar, head lowered, lost in thought.
As for Bulu, he scrambled off Yige’er, crawled on all fours to Shiya, and kowtowed repeatedly.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, bride of the god. I was reckless.Please don’t curse my family again.”
Elena slammed the table and stood up, trembling with anger.
“Are you kidding me? You want me to leave Shiya here for some ridiculous flower-bride ritual?”
Losing composure at the negotiating table was almost catastrophic, but she did it anyway.
Her mind was filled with anger and fear.
Unsurprisingly, the old village chief’s murky eyes concealed a glint of satisfaction at having found his opponent’s weakness.
The old man suddenly relaxed.
He pulled out a dusty bottle of flower-brewed wine from a cabinet behind him, broke the seal, and poured a cup for everyone present.
“Please, try it, Princess Elena. I brewed this over a decade ago, originally for my daughter’s wedding.”
Elena wasn’t impressed.
She pushed the cup away with two fingers.
Seeing the princess’s blatant refusal, the chief of Flower God Village didn’t get angry.
He took a sip alone before speaking slowly.
“Princess Elena, may I ask you a question first? Does Miss Shiya have any bloodline talent, or has she learned any magic?”
Elena hesitated, but finally shook her head.
“She has no talent in that regard. Her bloodline talent hasn’t shown any signs of awakening.”
“I see,” the old chief sighed.
“Frail-looking, scared stiff at the slightest trouble, doesn’t seem cut out for martial training either. I’m afraid she’d trip over her own feet carrying half a sack of grain. Dull and naive. If some outsider tricked and bullied her, she’d probably still make excuses for them.”
The old chief shook his head with almost every sentence.
What a handful.
Elena found herself nodding too.
“That’s true. Young Shiya was easily tricked out of her candy by the girls, and whenever that certain someone bullied her, she’d just come crying to me.”
For a moment, the two of them were getting along quite well, chatting about the girl’s various flaws as if she were their disappointing daughter or younger sister.
“With such a weak personality, if she ever suffered domestic violence, she’d probably be too scared to tell her family.”
“That’s why I think it’s best to keep Shiya by my side and never let her marry.”
Karlen, who had been unable to get a word in, watched in bewilderment.
‘Weren’t we supposed to be negotiating? One of you acts like Shiya’s old father, the other like her older sister.’
But just as he thought that, Chief Edwin’s demeanor shifted sharply.
He leaned forward, his hands on the table, staring intently at Elena.
His murky eyes were now sharper than ever, like a chilling black sun.
“So, Princess Elena, when the storm you’ve brought with you arrives, how will you protect such a fragile little fool?”
Elena’s pale blue eyes cooled.
She slammed the table without flinching.
“Am I to understand that you’re accusing an imperial princess of cruelty?”
The weight of such a grave accusation did not break the old man’s spine.
He snorted with a laugh and slowly leaned back into his chair.
“Princess Elena, I can see you’re no ordinary person, and you’re certainly not content to remain beneath others.But given your current situation, with only the limited authority of the student council, I imagine your two sisters are putting considerable pressure on you.”
Elena cut him off sharply:
“Royal matters are not for a commoner to meddle in. You’d better say something more useful, old chief.”
Old and crafty.
The young princess, still unfledged and not yet able to display her talents, had already been overpowered in presence by the old chief.
Chief Edwin nodded, taking the hint.
“If they were to learn that the Shiya you hold dear is actually an ordinary person, things would get very ugly, wouldn’t they?”
‘I will naturally protect her.’
Unfortunately, that promise never left her lips.
Elena opened her mouth several times, but each time she swallowed the words.
Her furrowed brow gradually fell, twisting into a cloud of worry.
Earlier, when the villagers had swarmed the hilltop and knelt before Shiya, Elena had asked herself:
If they suddenly went mad, could she protect Shiya?
The answer was no.
She didn’t want to earn a reputation as a bloodthirsty killer in front of the world—that would hinder her bid for the crown.
If she didn’t eliminate every threat, Shiya would never be safe.
That was why Elena wanted to lock Shiya away in the depths of the palace, isolated from the outside world.
But what about her two ruthless sisters above her?
A maid Elena deeply trusted had once made a small mistake in front of the second princess.
She was accused of offending the royalty, her limbs broken, and she was stuffed into a pot.
She was then sent back to Elena’s chambers.
All Elena could do was personally end her suffering.
And Shiya?
If the worst happened, would she have to run a blade across Shiya’s throat herself?
At that thought, Elena felt a sharp pain in her head.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, her palm slick with cold sweat.
Seeing Elena waver, the old chief finally bared his fangs.
“In that case, why not let ordinary Miss Shiya settle in Flower God Village as the god’s wife?For just a small price of personal freedom, she can enjoy a peaceful life and earn the villagers’ reverence every day.”
Chief Edwin hesitated for a moment, then his gaze inadvertently fell on a crayon drawing of four people hanging on the wall.
The old man seemed to make up his mind.
“Furthermore, Princess Elena, Flower God Village has a magic crystal mine that can produce plenty of magic weapons and anti-magic armor.We also have many able-bodied young men in the village.”
Elena looked up sharply, staring at the old chief.
His meaning was clear: even if she didn’t become the crown princess, Flower God Village would fully support her ascension to the throne.
Suddenly, Elena’s mind flashed images of her mother, who had died under mysterious circumstances, and the maid who had been tortured beyond recognition.
On a whim, she asked,
“If Shiya stays in your village, she won’t be bullied, will she?”
The old chief was taken aback, not expecting Elena to agree so quickly.
“You need not worry about that.”
“Then it’s settled between us.”
After that, Chief Edwin added matter-of-factly, “I’ll leave it to you to convince Miss Shiya.”
Elena’s head buzzed.
It wasn’t until the old man uttered the word “settled” that she snapped awake, drenched in cold sweat.
She had actually, in the girl’s absence, with just a few words,like casually selling off a piece of merchandise, agreed to keep Shiya forever on this barren island.
Her fingernails dug deep into her palms, and a trickle of blood slid through her fingers.
Elena had never loathed herself as much as she did now.