Brunhild fell silent for nearly half a minute before saying, "I think he was mocking me again just now."
Jia Fei'er replied with a blank expression, "You can leave out 'I think.'"
"Heh, forget it. He's mocked the white-haired fox plenty of times, too. If you round things out, I haven't lost anything. Besides, the most important thing is that he finally stopped calling me 'Your Highness.'"
Jia Fei'er finally couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her liege's shoulders and shook her hard several times. "Bryn, he really was mocking you! Get a grip!"
"No, no, my dear Jilly. I've never been clearer-headed than I am now. When the head of the leader of the World-Encircling Serpent rolled beneath my sword, I could already feel the Star Ring growing. What we gained from this battle even surpassed everything we experienced in the New World. Jilly, I can see the domain of the Saints beckoning to me. Even my strange illness won't be a problem anymore. How could I not be clear-headed at a time like this? And how could I not be overjoyed?"
Jia Fei'er froze for a moment, then immediately recovered and said irritably, "Don't change the subject. You haven't even reached the Fifth Ring! If anyone's going to become a Saint first, it should be me, shouldn't it?"
King Sulwca clicked her tongue softly and turned her head away.
Ostana Ball still wore her composed, scholarly smile. In a very solemn tone, she said, "Your Highness, if you'd been a little more clear-headed, you could have simply made your move just now. He was in a very weak state, too."
"That's not being clear-headed. That's being shameless," Brunhild said irritably. "Ostana, who was it that told me the universe had to be seized, not stolen? If I stooped