Sobbing for Me (Third Extra Chapter)

"Iver," Isabel asked earnestly, "No offense intended... but if I remember correctly, you lived in Orphanage, didn't you?"

"Hmm." Iver nodded.

Isabel said softly, with a hint of pity, "I also went to visit the Orphanage. The Children there were eating a brownish porridge that I couldn't even identify the ingredients of, and even that wasn't enough to fill their stomachs. They didn't have warm clothes, and in winter they didn't even have hot water for bathing. There were no separate toilets for men and women in the Orphanage, let alone separate cubicles. Everyone slept together, with many children lying on one bed."

"The Orphanage on Glass Island is definitely different from the ones outside."

Iver sighed and explained, "The Orphanage I lived in was funded and sponsored by my adoptive father. Although we were basically never full, we had meat every week. We even had roast chicken, roast meat, fried cod fillets, and lamb offal pudding during holidays. As for not being full... that was to keep the Children from being too energetic and unruly. Just like how prisoners aren't given enough to eat in jail."

"As for sleeping—we didn't have separate rooms, but we did have separate beds. There were eight to twelve beds in one of our rooms, and I would always hold Yulia while we slept. Because if she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't see me, she would be very scared, and her body temperature would immediately rise."

"... Even Orphanage is different."

Isabel murmured, "Why did this happen..."

Iver shook his head slightly and said softly, "Because of the port, Isabel. Glass Island has Avalon's largest port, and Avalon's largest number of griffins and knights guarding merchants and goods. As a result, wealth will naturally gather here from all directions."

Seeing the devastated Isabel, Iver felt somewhat relieved.

—There has to be a time like this.

Isabel has never experienced the devastation of a broken country and the loss of her home, so this experience of "going on an incognito visit" isn't so bad.

The blows she is suffering, the pain and confusion she is experiencing... prove that even without enduring such pain, and without becoming the iron-willed "Queen of Flowers," Isabel still possesses her kind and gentle heart.

As a monarch, she might be a little weak, but Iver would rather serve Isabel like this.

"I'll help you, Isabel," Iver said softly.

After saying this, Iver revealed Grandet the deals he had made with Grandet.

Isabel was very clever. Without Iver needing to explain, she immediately understood. "With the Freight Railway, the economies of those remote cities should improve, right?"

"The difference before and after will be like heaven and earth."

Iver answered very simply, "In places where even horse-drawn carriages have difficulty transporting goods, if a high-speed railway connecting the whole country is built... without a doubt, wealth and happiness will expand at a visible speed."

The saying "To get rich, build roads first" is definitely true.

"In that case... I have many ideas!"

Isabel's eyes widened with excitement, her previously dull emerald green pupils, dimmed by fatigue and grief, brightening once more. "Thank you, Iver! I'll find a way to get the goblins and trolls into Avalon for construction. As for the port... well, leave the rest to me!"

At this point, she paused suddenly and asked with some curiosity, "But... was the money Grandet gave you considered a bribe?"

But Isabel quickly realized that her words sounded a bit off, so she hurriedly explained, somewhat flusteredly, "Oh, I didn't mean to interfere. It's your money, you've helped me a lot. It's just... I'm just a little curious, because it's the first time I've seen it..."

"--Calculate."

Isabel was still struggling with how to ask her question, but Iver answered directly and very definitively, "It's not just bribery, it's incitement."

"Incite?" Isabel, somewhat puzzled.

"Although my family has some money, liquid assets and fixed assets are different, not to mention this is a huge sum of money that is completely unregulated by the market. With this considerable amount of liquid money flowing directly into my hands, I can easily leverage it and exert several times the actual influence..."

Iver explained.

Seeing that Isabel was a little dizzy, and her tired brain seemed unable to process the information, Iver simply skipped the intermediate steps and stated the conclusion directly. "This is his financial sponsorship of my power grab."

"... Huh?"

Isabel was stunned for a long time.

She hesitated for a moment, then uttered a weak voice. "Are you going to usurp power, Iver? Then I might as well just..."

"That's not what I meant."

Iver waved his hand. "What I mean is, he's cultivating my ambition by removing the constraints I'm under... that's probably what they mean by 'money corrupts men'."

"... So he's a bad guy?" Isabel paused for a moment before asking.

"He's not a good person. But that doesn't necessarily mean we can't work together."

Iver laughed, "After all, he's not a good person, but his money is good money. With his sponsorship, all your worries and pains can be resolved. You don't need to worry about these things; just leave them all to me..."

He had just finished speaking when Isabel suddenly stood up from the table and threw herself into Iver.

It was less of a hug and more of a headbutt.

She buried her head in Iver's neck, one leg half-kneeling on Iver's thigh, her whole body prostrate, burying her head forcefully in Iver's shoulder. As if trying to suppress her silent sobs, or perhaps letting out a sorrowful sigh, or maybe just a yawn upon waking from a deep dream... she trembled as she took a deep, trembling breath, then slowly and long exhaled a warm breath.

Her body trembled slightly with each breath. As she breathed, she tightened her grip on Iver's elbows and fingers.

Even while hugging Iver's neck and taking deep breaths, Isabel tried to keep a distance between herself and Iver.

At first, Iver thought it was Isabel's distancing, but he soon realized it was just politeness.

Because Iver never did anything too outrageous towards her, Isabel did not want to use her power to coerce or imply anything to Iver.

... What an innocent, shy coward.

He didn't seem like a stunningly beautiful young woman; he was more like a cautious young man who had never been in a relationship.

"It's fine if it comes a little more."

Iver sighed and whispered in Isabel's ear.

He reached out and hugged Isabel tightly from behind, so that her back wouldn't be so tense, but rather she could relax and lean against him completely. Then he pushed the crown on the table further away to prevent it from spilling the tea.

Even with Isabel pressing down on him, Iver could clearly feel the weight of that heavy dress. Not to mention Isabel, who wore it the whole time.

"I'm sorry, Iver..."

Isabel's voice was very soft, almost greedily inhaling the damp scent of Iver's neck after his shower, her fingers unconsciously grasping his cool, jade-like platinum blonde hair. "I just want to rest for a while..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually tinged with a faint sob. "I'm so tired... I don't know what to do... Thank goodness you're here..."

"You've made great progress, Isabel."

Iver gently comforted her, "Few people can change everything in such a short time... It's nothing short of a miracle."

He said it from the bottom of his heart.

From being too afraid to speak to strangers at the beginning, to now being able to impersonate someone and travel alone incognito; from needing to consult her teacher and Grandmother before doing anything, to now traveling the country alone to complete the pilgrimage ceremony without any Fifth Level confidants for protection; from being killed after only three sentences during her Promotion Ritual, to now being able to travel alone to unknown cities to investigate civilians without being exposed...

Isabel grew stronger and matured at a visible pace.

From the beginning until now, only two months have passed.

Iver closed his eyes slightly and hugged Isabel even tighter, as if he were hugging himself.

—How long has it been since he awakened his Previous Life memories? From knowing that the world he knew was about to be destroyed to finally resolving everything... how much time has passed? It seems to have been only two months.

Iver's words seemed to be addressed to Isabel, but also to himself.

He whispered in Isabel's ear, "So don't cry. I'm with you."

But when Iver said those words, Isabel couldn't hold back anymore. She trembled all over and burst into tears.

Iver was at a loss for what to do—after Isabel cried out for the first time, her sobs grew louder and louder.

It sounded like a grievance, yet also like a venting; like a lament, yet also like a sense of relief.

She sobbed, mumbling apologies and saying in a wronged tone that she shouldn't have cried...

This left Iver somewhat helpless as he hugged Her Majesty the Queen, who was only a year older than him, and comforted her like a child, saying, "Oh, it's okay to cry sometimes," unsure whether he should cry or laugh.

But for some reason, Iver's mood inexplicably improved a lot.

It seemed that a dark cloud, which he himself had not noticed, was dispelled from his heart by the sound of crying.

—It was as if Isabel had cried for Iver never cried.

Chapter 3, an 8,000-word update! I asked for leave a little late yesterday, so I'm adding an extra chapter plus an early update as compensation for the leave!