BXBX NOVEL Chapter 545
Anna pleasantly smiled at such thoughts. In the future, Anna’s wheelchair would be called the Princess Carriage, and anyone who hears this word, similar to a warning, would keep their feet away from Anna.
“Vincent. Can I call you big brother when we are alone?” Requested Anna out of the blue.
Vincent, Kazumi, Lucas, and Bilka became shocked to hear the princess of Lusterfall call a. They stared at Anna as if they had misheard the unbelievable request. A moment later, after their shock subsided, they commented one after the other.
[W-w-w-what!?]
“P-p-princes...”
“Hahaha. Now, this is a fun ride.”
‘What should I answer with? No... before that, why did Anna request this sort of thing when it has only been an hour or two?’ Vincent couldn’t believe he was asked such a question, and he didn’t know what the right answer should be.
-Kazumi. I need professional assistance.- He requested, hoping she could save him from this predicament.
.....
[Hmm. How about treating each other like a little sister and big brother instead of calling each other those words? I think having Tula calling you big brother is enough.]
-Yeah. One little sister is enough.- Vincent agreed. He felt thankful to have the support of a level-headed person in this situation. The wrong response could lead to misfortune depending on how Anna felt.
Vincent looked at Lucas, laughing as this drama was entertaining to the old man. Vincent looked at Bilka, and her glare was enough to show she wanted to kill him right now.
*Cough* “It is too much to call you highness...” Vincent tried to keep himself from showing how anxious he was and revealed a friendly smile. “Referring to your highness as Anna is already too much for me. Not to mention your highness doesn’t know me that much to act so close to a commoner who became a noble.”
“Little sister Anna, please. ” Anna showed a beaming angelic smile and continued, “I can see it in your gaze you are not a greedy person. You also helped me without asking anything in return.”
[Is Anna the quiet yet assertive kind of girl? Well, I thought she was a pitiable princess, but now I think Anna isn’t as helpless as I assumed.]
-Then I hope the answer is going to please Anna.-
[Good luck.]
*Cough* “Is that so...” Vincent scratched his cheek and offered, “How about I consider Anna as a little sister instead?”
Anna nodded happily. “Okay, Vincent. As my big brother, will you escort me to the dwarven lands?”
“...” [...] Vincent and Kazumi didn’t expect this kind of outcome. They thought it was excessive to call the princess of Lusterfall a little sister, but to land Vincent into a trap was nothing they could expect at this moment.
Vincent showed the expression of someone who couldn’t believe the sweet princess in front of him had led them into a trap. This caused Lucas to resume laughing.
“Hahaha. How about giving Vincent a reward to attract his interest? I heard Vincent will not continue learning in the academy. Instead, he is going to travel around the world.”
Vincent and Kazumi became shocked to find out Lucas almost knew everything about Vincent and his family. The ride in the carriage was going to give Vincent a heart attack if more shocking revelations kept appearing one after the other.
“What are you trying to force the princess to do?” Angrily complained Bilka.
“How about sponsoring the Lionheart family branch? What do you think, princess?” Suggested Lucas with a smirk.
“But her highness... I mean, Anna only met me today. After exchanging words for less than half a day, how can the princess of Lusterfall trust me enough to sponsor me?”
Anna nodded. “I agree.”
*Phew* Vincent felt relieved. Anna agreed that Lucas’s suggestion was too much, or so Vincent wished to believe.
“I, Anna Lusterfall, princess of Lusterfall, shall sponsor Vincent’s family secretly for now. ” Anna announced with a pleasant smile, taking Vincent, Kazumi, and Bilka by surprise.
“I, Anna Lusterfall, princess of Lusterfall, shall bestow the Lionheart family branch the noble rank of a Baron. The reasons are as follows.”
“Vincent Lionheart has greatly aided in the suppression of ant hordes.”
“Vincent Lionheart aided many soldiers from losing their lives from acid attacks.”
“Vincent Lionheart has provided the princess of Lusterfall a chair design to help her move instead of being carried everywhere.”
“Vincent Lionheart verbally agreed to sign an alliance contract with the princess of Lusterfall to offer support.”
Vincent and Kazumi couldn’t believe what Anna said. Vincent wanted to know if Anna knew about him. Was this meeting simply a coincidence? Or was this planned?
On the other hand, Bilka didn’t know if she should feel unhappy about the ‘instead of being carried everywhere’ part or happy for Anna with the new possibilities open to her because of the wheelchair.
Some people mocked Anna as the royal crippled baby princess behind her back. Because of Vincent’s wheelchair design, Bilka might be able to feed fewer servants her knuckle sandwich and glare less at the nobles.
However, Bilka didn’t want to stay apart from Anna. Carrying Anna was one of her jobs, and Bilka feared Anna might abandon her one day.
*Cough* “Anna... can I know if meeting me was a coincidence? This situation is filling me with doubt.” Vincent looked at Lucas and continued, “Lucas knows everything about my family as if we are under surveillance.”
Vincent looked at Bilka and Anna. “Bilka hates me as if I had stolen something important from her. Anna, you are treating me as if we had known each other for ages.”
“Please understand that I didn’t read the reports to blackmail you or anything like that.” Anna blushed and averted her gaze. “After hearing about your achievements and about Lilith Lionheart’s strange sickness being cured enough to allow her to leave her home after ten years, I couldn’t wait to meet the mysterious Vincent Lionheart that could cause miracles.”
“The princess wished to meet you, and she had her hoped to hear you say you could fix her legs.” Bilka glared at Vincent. *Tsk* “At least you provided an alternative after breaking her dreams, or I would have to teach you not to mess with royalty.”
“Bilka...” Anna covered her blushing cheeks with her hands. She acted embarrassed after hearing, ‘The princess wished to meet you.’
[So Lucas, Bilka, and Anna know about most or all of our movements.]
[No wonder the hostile noble families didn’t cause us too much trouble and placed us in a difficult situation. The previous assassination attempt probably happened too fast for them to detect.]
-The eyes of the hawk and the eyes of the princess were secretly watching over us...-
Vincent had a lot to consider, but he started leaning toward accepting Anna’s offer.
‘I feel I can not win against Anna and Lucas. Furthermore, becoming a Baron would help me a lot in the future. Not to mention, I can have a free ride to meet the dwarves and search for the descendants who made Ester’s sword Elsir. Maybe they can make a new hilt and give us information on who made an artifact-grade sword with the ability to enhance Sigil Magic specifically.’ He pondered.
Vincent extended his hand for a handshake. “I want to be a free man, so how about we call my sponsorship an alliance instead? One where I can assist out of my free will instead of being forced to.”
“How dare you not accept serving under the princess...”
“Little girls have to keep their mouths closed.” Vincent interrupted Bilka. He looked at Anna and continued, “I am looking for my best friend’s child. He or she should be older than twenty years old, but their location is unknown. That means I am planning to travel a lot until then.”
“Princess Anna, I believe it is fine to let Vincent be free instead of being chained down by the sponsorship and responsibility to show loyalty and respect. ” Lucas looked at Vincent and continued in a serious tone, “I hope you can keep the princess safe and help the princess if she is in danger.”
Vincent smiled warmly at Anna while saying, “I will not abandon Anna when I am around. If anything happens, my home will be your safe house. My people will be your people.”
“I, Anna Lusterfall, princess of Lusterfall, accept the secret alliance.” Anna shook Vincent’s hand, and a flash of light shocked Vincent. He thought it was an attack at first.
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[Notice – Reputation Gained]
*Reputation – Hawkins Family +20 (Total 30 rep)
*Reputation – Lusterfall Family +5 (Total 5 rep)
*Reputation – Lucas Hawkins +100 (Total 130 rep)
*Reputation – Anna Lusterfall +100 (Total 105 rep)
*Reputation – Bilka +10 (Total 10 rep)
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[Promised Quest: Alliance With Anna Lusterfall.]
[Complete the agreed commitment to offering Anna Lusterfall support.]
[Quest conditions to be met.]
*Anna Lusterfall Alive – 1/1 (Met)
*Support Provided- 0/8 (Not Met)
[Rewards]
*Reputation – Anna Lusterfall +1 per *Support Provided
*Reputation – Lusterfall Family +0.5 per *Support Provided
*Reputation – Lucas Hawkins +1 per *Support Provided
*Reputation – Bilka +1 per *Support Provided
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“Vincent. Are you perhaps interested in the princess too? Hahaha.” Lucas teased when he saw Vincent stare at Anna and hold her hand, not releasing her hand at the same time.
Anna blushed from Lucas’s comment while Bilka clenched her fist as if she wanted to throw a punch.