Unaware of Pain

Isabel's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She let out a soft groan and slowly woke up from the slight swaying.

... What just happened? My memory of the last second is still from when I was talking to Iver.

Then she vaguely felt the whole world shake and wrinkle. It was like a sudden earthquake shattering everything, or like a fragile cardboard box being swept away by a flood. She vaguely heard a terrible hurricane howling, as if she were in the middle of a battlefield, listening to the earth-shattering roar.

She shivered, feeling immense fear. It was as if her house was about to be destroyed by a tornado; the sense of crisis made her feel like she was about to wake up at any moment, but then she heard a sigh.

A dry, hoarse voice, like sand grinding against a throat, rang out. "Go back to sleep."

And so she fell into a deep sleep once more.

When I woke up again, the remaining things were like a dream, hazy and elusive.

... but she was already dreaming.

Can the person in the dream still dream? Isabel was momentarily lost in confusion.

"Your Highness Isabel."

As if she had heard a sound, Shafiya's voice came from outside the house.

Isabel immediately regained her senses and her expression returned to calm.

She tried to throw off the covers and get out of bed. Only then did she realize that it wasn't her who was dizzy, but the "house" itself that was shaking.

—This is a ship.

Although she had never been on a boat before, she instinctively knew what it was.

Why was I just with Iver a moment ago, and now I'm on the ship?... Did I lose some of my memories? A thought popped into Isabel's mind, and she looked up at Shafiya with a somewhat melancholy gaze.

"Are you having trouble sleeping, Your Highness?"

Shafiya said softly, "Would you like to go outside and feel the sea breeze?"

"I just... thought of Iver."

Isabel shook her head slightly, her eyes brimming with tears.

This is, of course, also a performance.

—Compared to waking up feeling groggy and therefore feeling "confused" and "doubtful".

Feeling melancholy and sadness suddenly at night seems much more reasonable. Not to mention, Isabel can now be considered Princess of a fallen kingdom, so it's perfectly normal for her to have trouble sleeping and overthink.

Sure enough, Shafiya had no suspicion that Isabel had any problems.

She comforted him, "Everything will be alright with Iver. Isn't Sherlock with him?"

"But, after being away for so long..."

Isabel's voice was filled with emotion, and tears welled up in her eyes in an instant. "I want to see him! I want to right now—"

Seeing this Princess, who was usually quite withdrawn, now displaying such strong emotions and becoming unusually willful, Shafiya could only smile wryly, but felt a faint joy in her heart.

This was the first time she had ever seen Isabel have such clear likes and dislikes.

Before this, Isabel never explicitly expressed her opinion. If asked if she was alright, she would simply nod slightly without offering any further comment. She would accept anything given to her and eat whatever she was fed.

She never refuses, but she never seems to be very happy.

Meg is strong-willed and carefree, naturally optimistic, and never cares much about or understands children's emotional problems; George, on the other hand, doesn't understand girls' thoughts at all, and to him there is no difference between Princess and Prince.

But Shafiya, being Half-Elf, could empathize with Isabel and felt sorry for this most vulnerable little Princess.

As Half-Elf, Shafiya Morgan has a very high purity of bloodline.

Half-Elf bloodlines are typically one-half, one-quarter, or even less... but hers are at least 80%. This is because almost every one of her ancestors chose elves as their mates.

They deeply admired their ancestor Morgan and didn't even change their surname.

According to Avalon tradition, descendants often change their surnames after their ancestors become apostles. This ritual signifies that they have no intention of clinging to their ancestors' glory, that they will survive on their own strength, and that they will never cause trouble for their ancestors or ask for their help when they encounter difficulties—completely opposite to the idea of "forever remembering and inheriting the glory of ancestors" held by Xingti.

The Morgan family is an exception.

Perhaps it was because she didn't become a knight of the Silver Crowned Dragon, but instead became a fairy on the Path of Love, choosing to follow the Shadow Angel. Her descendants didn't shy away from this surname—they openly inherited the name Morgan. They attempted to purify their bloodline through this means, restoring the long lifespan and powerful talents of elves.

In this context, Shafiya received a rather rigorous education from a young age. She not only had to learn the language of Avalon, but also the language of the Theocracy, common sense, and understanding, as if she were not a human, but Pure-Blood Elf born in Avalon.

The elders in the family have lived long lives; even her great-grandfather is still alive and healthy. They have high expectations for Shafiya ... because she is beautiful, elegant, and has very distinct elven features. She also knows complete elven etiquette, and her accent is identical to that of the elves of the Theocracy.

Even the elves of the Theocracy couldn't tell whether she was human or not. If she had another child with an elf, then she could be considered almost like an elf.

Shafiya was once like a Doll, obeying her family's teachings and following their orders.

Exquisite, aloof, and silent—unspoken, like a caged bird.

This is somewhat similar to Isabel, yet different. Unlike Isabel, she wasn't oppressed by the shadow of death, thus closing her heart off. Rather, she saw everything clearly at a young age, knowing she had no chance of resistance, so she chose to accept reality.

If you don't resist, you won't feel pain.

If you obey orders wholeheartedly, there will be no unhappiness; if you are dissatisfied and try your best to change reality... by the time everything settles down, you've already missed your initial vision. It's like the toys you wanted as a child; you no longer like them as an adult. Is it meaningful to buy toys later when you've earned money? Obviously not.

So Shafiya chose another path.

"I don't like that stuff anymore," she told herself. If she couldn't change reality, she would change herself.

She kept repeating this process, constantly rewriting her own mind. And it was because of this that she reached the Fourth Level at a young age, came into contact with the Fifth Level of the Path of Authority... and thus stood beside Queen Sophia, who had just ascended the throne.

"Livestock were not domesticated because they were stupid, but because they were too smart."

The young Queen's seemingly unintentional remark deeply wounded her heart.

Ultimately, she chose to rebel.

She married an ordinary human.

That was one of his subordinates, an arbitrator in his thirties.

The other person possessed no special talents, nor did they have the apostle bloodline of the Founding Family. Nor was they the elf they so desperately desired. It was simply because the other person loved them wholeheartedly and from the bottom of their heart—not for the name "Morgan," nor for the elf blood, but for them alone.

"—From this day forward, I will no longer be Morgan!"

After saving her husband from assassins hired by his family for the third time, Shafiya angrily severed ties with the Morgan family.

Now, she looks at Isabel as if she's looking at her past self.

The depressed, silent, and painless Isabel was just like Shafiya as a child; but now, Isabel is fully awakened, with her own will and likes and dislikes...

Just like Shafiya, who had already known her destiny and rebelled against the fate of her own bloodline.

The former Queen taught her this experience.

Now she has to return it to her granddaughter.