Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life

In the afternoon, as the Rellios Kingdom forces from the east set up their camp, Beatrice and Adeline climbed to the top of a high hill. From that eastern vantage point, they could see the city of Tramund in the distance. The city was ringed by incredibly sturdy fortifications, and further out, a tower rose from the middle of the sea like a lighthouse fortress, positioned to guard against naval attacks. Beatrice used a telescope to scan the dense, fortified city.

"So that’s our next target... hmm... looks good, looks good," Beatrice muttered.

"Let me borrow the telescope," Adeline said impatiently.

"Here... look over there," Beatrice replied, handing it over and pointing the way.

Adeline took in the same sight, then turned to her sister.

"No problem, Beatrice. We can take that city easily," Adeline said with total confidence.

"Good grief... enough already. You two don’t need to fight. There’s Ard, the demon army, Claudia, Ainsley, Irwin, Eledar, and the Ateras forces. If anything, you should just stay in the back and we can watch together," Rosalind scolded. She stood behind them, looking exhausted just listening to them.

"Hah... then what’s the point of coming along?" Beatrice protested.

"Exactly! I want to fight too," Adeline added.

"Hoho... so that’s how it is, huh?"

Suddenly, a man’s voice echoed from above, followed by the powerful flap of wings. Beatrice and Adeline immediately looked up, while Rosalind—recognizing the voice—instantly turned pale. Ard descended from the sky with Ace. As they neared the ground, Ard leaped down, and Ace the garuda shrank in size, perching on his shoulder.

"Ard!" Beatrice shouted cheerfully.

"Brother Ard!" Adeline cried out happily.

"Forgive me, Ard! I couldn’t stop these two princesses... please don’t be mad at me, and please don’t take my head!" Rosalind screamed, bowing low before him in total desperation.

"Yeah, yeah... no one’s getting beheaded. Relax," Ard replied.

"Really?" Rosalind asked, looking up with eyes full of hope and pleading.

"Yes, yes... stand up already. What are you doing?" Ard said, helping her up before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "It must have been hard, guarding them. You can relax now," Ard said after pulling back.

"Huaaaaa... thank you, Ard!" Rosalind wailed, immediately hugging him and crying.

"What is this... so dramatic. Give me a break," Beatrice grumbled, visibly annoyed.

"Ah... right, this is for you," Ard replied while still hugging Rosalind, handing over a letter he had pulled from inside his clothes.

"Huh... what is this?" Beatrice asked, taking the letter.

"Just read it... oh, read it with Adeline, the letter is for both of you," Ard answered.

Beatrice opened the letter and Adeline immediately looked on with her. Their eyes darted from left to right as they read, and instantly, their faces turned pale and their lips began to tremble. It turned out the letter was from Brutus, and in it, he poured out his rage at the two of them as if he were standing right there scolding them himself. With ghostly pale faces, Beatrice and Adeline looked at Ard, their eyes welling up with tears.

"So... after this... Adeline and I aren’t allowed to leave the palace?" Beatrice asked pleadingly.

"Can’t you help us convince Uncle Brutus?" Adeline begged.

"Sorry, that’s out of my hands. And here... two more letters for each of you. Relax, these are from Eva... oh, and there’s one for you too, Rosalind. It seems Eva has some downtime while waiting for the Fredonia forces to link up, so she was able to write these letters that Xeria just brought over," Ard said, handing out the mail.

With trembling, resigned hands, Beatrice and Adeline took their letters, as did Rosalind, who remained in Ard’s embrace. They slowly opened the envelopes and began to read. Their eyes welled up and they turned deathly pale. In her letters, Eva wasn’t angry at all; instead, she detailed exactly what she planned to do to the two of them. Her handwriting was neat and calm, making it clear she had been perfectly composed while writing—which was far more terrifying than the messy, chaotic rant in the letter from Brutus.

Meanwhile, the letter in Rosalind’s hand contained only a single sentence:

"Hi Rosalind, I hope you’re ready by the time you read this. If Ard told you that you won’t be beheaded, he’s lying—because I’ll be the one beheading you myself. Look forward to it... bye."

Rosalind turned her head slowly to look at Ard, who was still hugging her and staring back with pitying eyes.

"You said no one was getting beheaded?" Rosalind asked, her voice shaking.

"Ah... don’t pay any mind to Eva. She’s just joking. Relax," Ard replied casually with a smile.

But hearing Ard dismiss the contents of Eva’s letters so lightly made the three of them turn even paler than before. Their expressions seemed to scream, "Since when has Eva ever been one to joke... and if Ard is acting this relaxed, it means he doesn’t want to get involved and definitely won’t help us."

Finally, without a moment’s delay, Beatrice, Adeline, and Rosalind dropped to their knees at Ard’s feet and clung to his legs.

"Ard... help me... I don’t want Eva to make me sail a ship all alone across the pitch-black waters of the Le Rein Infernal... please help me, I know for a fact she’ll do it and you’re the only one who can talk her out of it," Beatrice cried.

"Brother Ard... I don’t want to duel Sister Eva in the Dragon God Realm... she said she wants to kill me over and over again... you can’t die there, but you can still feel the pain... please, help me," Adeline added, pleading through her tears.

"Ard... please forgive me, I only did it because it was my job. Please tell Eva not to behead me—you’re the only one who can reason with her," Rosalind begged.

Ard folded his arms across his chest and wore a nonchalant smile. He looked away, though he kept stealing glances at the three of them as they continued to plead at his feet. Once the three of them had exhausted themselves and finally sat there in resignation, he spoke.

"So, does this mean you’ve learned your lesson? Even though Eva hasn’t actually done anything yet and she’s currently far away on the southern continent. Aren’t you even a little curious to see if she’s actually joking or not?" Ard asked casually.

"No... we definitely aren’t curious. We know Eva all too well... she says it and she does it, there’s no negotiating," Rosalind shouted.

"Yeah, exactly. Please Ard, you’re the only one who can talk to her," Beatrice added.

"Right... please, Brother Ard," Adeline Chimed in.

"Weren’t you guys more afraid of Uncle Brutus? Why does it seem like you’re more terrified of Eva instead?" Ard said, intentionally teasing the three of them.

"Yes... we’re more afraid of Eva," the three of them replied in unison.

Ard scratched the back of his head, then turned to look at them with a serious expression this time.

"Fine. But before that, promise me one thing. If this happens again, I won’t help you with the consequences. Don’t let something like this repeat itself. We are fighting for the world right now, and there’s no time for these kinds of games. Understood?" Ard asked firmly.

"We understand and we promise," the three of them answered.

"Good, then now..."

"Ah... so this is where you are, Your Majesty."

A woman’s voice cut Ard off. He turned to see a portal opening behind him. Xeria stepped out and bowed before him.

"What is it, Xeria?" Ard asked.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. There is an additional letter from Lady Eva for you," Xeria replied, handing the letter to Ard.

"Oh... thank you," Ard said, taking it.

"Very well, I shall take my leave, Your Majesty," Xeria replied.

Xeria immediately opened another portal to her lair and hopped inside. As the portal vanished, Ard opened the letter. His eyes darted back and forth across the page before a wry smile formed on his face. He folded the paper and handed it directly to Beatrice, Adeline, and Rosalind.

"Here, read this. A letter from Eva... for me," Ard said.

The three of them read it instantly. Their expressions, which had finally started to look calm and relieved, turned pale with terror once again. The letter read:

"Ard, if you help them and try to talk to me, I will establish a new empire and wage war against your Liberta Empire. Okay?"

The three of them stared at Ard, who only offered a bitter smile and a shrug, unable to say a word. Meanwhile, in the command tent of the dwarf and giant forces positioned before the Durnhill capital, Eva sat in her chair with her arms crossed, huffing proudly. A smile played on her lips. Milia entered the tent, saw Eva, and immediately grew curious.

"Why are you sitting there smiling to yourself, Eva?" Milia asked.

"It’s nothing. I’m just relieved to have settled one particular problem," Eva answered with pride.