Two days later.

Palace of the City of Glow.

"You're leaving today? Can't you stay here a little longer?" Horford Quinn, with mixed feelings in his heart, looked at Andrea, who had come to bid him farewell. "Otto and the others must also want to spend a bit more time with you."

"It's been a long time since I left Neverwinter city, and there are people waiting for me there," Andrea said frankly. "Today is the day that the old regime of the Kingdom of Dawn will be replaced by the new one. Considering their ident.i.ty as their families' heirs, they shouldn't be wasting time on banquets and games. Since we are friends, meeting once is enough already."

"She has indeed changed,"  Earl thought to himself.

She has matured.

"About the subsequent negotiations with Graycastle... Do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't know much about government affairs—in Neverwinter city, the ones who are responsible for them aren't the n.o.bles but rather freemen, after pa.s.sing some kind of examination. If you want to know more details, you'd better talk to Hill Fawkes. He has always been in contact with the Western Region." Andrea paused for a moment. "If you want my advice, don't make the same mistake as Appen."

Horford revealed a wry smile. "Continuing to resist Graycastle even after personally experiencing the power that Roland Wimbledon possesses, that would be quite stupid."

"It's not only about that..." Andrea shook her head. "The upcoming Battle of Divine Will concerns the fate of all of humanity, so any infighting between us would only accelerate our destruction—no matter whether it's Graycastle or the Kingdom of Dawn, none of us can survive alone in this upcoming calamity. So you have to keep in mind what will be more beneficial for our families."

"It's in our best interests to survive." Horford quickly understood the meaning of his daughter's words.

"As for our hope to survive, it now lies entirely with His Majesty Roland." She waved her hands and said, "So maintain order in the Kingdom of Dawn and cooperate together with Graycastle to get through the Battle of Divine Will. That is my only advice."

Earl Quinn nodded slowly. "...I understand."

Just as Andrea turned around, he stopped her once again.

"I..."

"You don't need to see me off, there are still many things you have to do today. And you don't need to worry about my safety, the G.o.d's Punishment Witches will be coming back with me to Neverwinter," she said without turning around.

"No, I wanted to say... I'm sorry, my dear daughter." When he said those words, Horford suddenly felt a lot older, but his heart felt like it was relieved of a great burden. In fact, he had so much more to say. Such as how sending her away at that time was indeed for the sake of the family but it was also to protect her. Or how much he regretted not discussing that issue with his wife. If he had a chance to choose again, he probably wouldn't have acted as harshly as he had. And finally, how happy he felt when he found out from Otto that she still alive and well...

However, Earl Quinn understood that the damage was already done. No matter what he said now, it would only sound like an excuse, nothing more than made-up words. This was the price of his decision. Andrea had now become so mature, he couldn't act too badly in front of her.

Without saying anything else, the old earl closed his eyes.

"Well... I'll be going then."

His daughter's steps slowly faded away and finally disappeared from his ears. Though he did not hear the word 'Father' that he yearned so much for, at the same time, he could feel that her att.i.tude was not as cold as before. At least, she no longer addressed him as Lord Earl.

This was acceptable too, he thought. After all, this is just a temporary goodbye. They would have the chance to meet again in the future.

Time heals all wounds.

His decision ten years ago had made him lose so much.

But Horford Quinn was determined to use the same amount of time to redeem himself.

Leaving Whitewave Bay, the s.h.i.+p entered the sea.

Appen put down the map in his hands and looked out from the porthole.

This route was one of the main commercial routes to the Wavelight Port of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. From time to time, one could see merchant s.h.i.+ps coming and going. Occasionally, some fishermen's boats would approach them trying to sell some fresh fish and vegetables.

If he was still the king, the s.h.i.+ps sailing around him should have been three-masted galleons flying the imperial flags, and if he wished to eat some fresh food, he would be naturally served by his maids.

Those d.a.m.n traitors were to blame for everything!

It had been a week since he was brought down from his throne. During this time, he could not stop thinking about the day of his fateful return. Even if he couldn't do anything to the King of Graycastle, he would never let the three big families enjoy his city and the fruits of their rebellion.

After careful consideration, Appen finally chose his first destination—the Thousand Blade Fort of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. That place was right next to the borders of the Kingdom of Dawn, and it was rumored that its Lord had blood relations with the n.o.bility of the Kingdom of Dawn. So he would not be too harsh on the Moya family. But most importantly, due to the close relations between the n.o.bles residing in both the kingdoms, if his ident.i.ty was ever to be needed, then they would be able to easily contact him.

Those Lords were always conspiring against each other, but at the end of the day, everyone only cared for their own benefits. Since he was no longer the ruler of the City of Glow, their interests would not be in conflict.

Furthermore, his lineage could actually come in handy for achieving their new interests.

For the sake of revenge, Appen decided to suppress his feelings of chagrin for now. When the time was right, he would make everyone who underestimated him pay dearly!

Thinking about that, he started to cheer up. At the same time, he felt a sense of hunger.

It would be nice to have some fruits now as the s.h.i.+ps on this route would become more scarce as they left the Kingdom of Dawn's coasts. He had just heard the sound of a fis.h.i.+ng boat docking with his boat.

Appen shook the thin string on his table, which was connected to a bell outside. Whenever it rang, the maid would have to come in.

Yet, there was no response from the outside this time.

His eyebrows were instantly raised.

He could not believe that he had fallen so low that even his maid would dare to be lazy. He felt the urge to murder someone rising.

Fine, because of her negligence she could serve as an example. Among his group of followers, other than the Moya family members and his loyal knights, the rest of them really needed to be taught a lesson.

He had to let them know that even on a s.h.i.+p, as long they were in his presence, they had to act like they were in the palace.

Appen exited the room but found no one outside. Not only the maids but even the sailors, his guards, the slaves... n.o.body was left. The cabin was strangely silent, and the only thing that could be heard were the waves cras.h.i.+ng against the s.h.i.+p.

He suddenly felt a cold sweat running down his spine.

Something was wrong!

Was he abandoned? No... that was impossible. Even if the mercenaries and the servants wanted to leave, his loyal knights that were trained by his family would have definitely stopped them. Not to mention there should have been at least some noise due to a dispute!

Appen decided to climb out of the hold onto to the deck to have a look. There should still be some sailors there no matter what. Just as he was about to turn around, he saw a bloodstained dagger being pointed at his neck.

The one holding the dagger was an extremely ugly woman, but with eyes as bright as stars.

Appen instantly realized that she did not belong to the s.h.i.+p crew. He would have noticed a person with such distinguis.h.i.+ng features.

She must be an intruder!

"Who sent you? Do you know what are you doing, lowlife? I am the King of Dawn, the Moya family's—"

His voice suddenly stopped.

He realized he could no longer breathe through his throat, it was clogged by the gus.h.i.+ng blood. A striking pain starting from his neck spread down his chest and a coldness swept through his body, taking away all of his strength.

As he fell down, he only heard a whisper above his head.

"Well, you are only a mortal after all."