Chapter 933: The King's Orders
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Earl Quinn froze, and he did not even realize that he had dropped the wine glass he had been holding.
The moment he saw her, he couldn't help but think of the name of two people—One of the two had stayed by him for more than half of his life, but because she had lost someone she loved, she fell into a depression that eventually led to the end of her life. The other person was the loved that was lost, and she was also someone he was supposed never to meet again. Nearly ten years had passed, and even though she was now much taller and more beautiful, Earl Quinn could still recognize her. But the two had such a striking resemblance that he almost blurted out the wrong name.
"Father, do you know her?" Hawn's words made him regain his senses.
Horford stood up slowly and asked calmly, "Are you... Andrea?"
"What? Are you saying that she's... the one, the one that had passed away..." Horn stared back and forth between them as he in muttered disbelief.
"Master, it really is Miss Andrea!" The old housekeeper was more excited than anyone else in the room. "I can't be mistaken. She has inherited all the characteristics of Madame!"
"It seems like you remember me," said Andrea, in an expressionless manner, "in that case, our negotiation will be much easier."
Horford could not help but feel rattled in his heart. The fact that his daughter had awakened as a witch was a secret hidden from everyone. Even Andrea's mother, his wife Fenancy, had no idea about this. When Andrea's maid had informed him about the incident, he instantly chose to drown the maid by pushing her into the river and had his men cover it up as a fake accident.
Although he knew that doing so might make his daughter hate him forever, at least this way she would remember who her father was. But upon meeting again, the decision he made all those years ago had turned into a sharp thorn in his heart.
This stabbing sensation became even more apparent, as he started to question whether he made the right choice back then.
But the earl knew that there were more pressing matters now—why Andrea would appear in the City of Glow and whether her identity was true or false. Moreover, he couldn't figure out what she meant by "I don't think so." These questions were more important than pursuing past mistakes.
He suppressed all the doubts and thoughts in his heart and waved at Horn. "You can go out first."
"Father!" Hawn responded worryingly.
"Just do as I said!" Horford replied firmly.
Seeing that he could not change his father's mind, Hawn left the room reluctantly.
"Don't alarm the others," the earl said to the steward, "and at the same time close the courtyard door and put out the lights in the hall. If someone in the government asks, just say that I'm drafting some documents and that no one should be allowed to disturb me. Do you understand?"
"I will do that right away! But..." The butler touched his head and said, "What about those friends that Miss Andrea brought?"
"Friends?" He glanced over at Andrea, suspiciously. "Take them to the ballroom and take care of them properly."
"Yes, Master!"
As the door shut with a squeak, the study suddenly plunged into silence. The pair stared at each other for a long time, until the earl could not resist anymore and broke the silence first. "Although you and my daughter are a bit alike, I can't confirm so rashly that you're Andrea. After all, she was only 16 when she left, and now ten years have passed..." He paused and said, "Do you have other ways to prove your identity?"
In truth, he had already believed that this was his daughter, so the question was just to confirm that—even the best kind of face-morphing abilities could not change one's soul. From her every move, the earl could see the shadow of the Flower of Glow.
Instead of answering, Andrea opened her hands, and a bow of magic power appeared in her palm. The glittering, longbow converged and diminished little by little, evolving into a distinctive appearance—that was a gift that he had made for his daughter's birthday, a long time ago.
At this point, Horford no longer had any doubt. This bow and arrow for beginners had long been destroyed together with the carriage, and even now he could not accurately describe its appearance.
Andrea, who was especially interested in shooting at an early age, clearly still remembered this gift.
"It's you..." said the count with a long sigh. "Why did you come back? I gave you away in the first place so that you could continue to live safely."
"Was that the only reason?" Andrea retrieved the longbow and said, "Or were you afraid that outsiders would find out that the Prime Minister had a daughter that had fallen under the temptation of the demon? I didn't think I was being protected. It felt more like abandonment. There was no safe place for a witch like me. If it weren't for my luck that I got to meet a group of people who had the same fate as me, I would have died ages ago in who knows where."
He opened his mouth but could not refute her argument because that was indeed one of his concerns back then. Once people found out that Andrea was a witch, the whole family would be in danger—not everyone would be comfortable with sending their family to the church or the other nobles. Rather than let the entire Quinn family face this difficult choice, it would be better for him to make that decision alone.
"But those were all in the past, and I'm not here to dig up old wounds." Andrea said positively, "You must be curious as to how I could enter the earl's residence so easily, even though the guards wouldn't easily believe my rhetoric. And when I saw the butler, I deliberately waited for a while outside the door. Is the one who called you father the heir to the family? When did I have such a brother?"
"He came from a branch... Your mother died a year after you left, and the Quinn family needed a successor," Horford whispered.
If that incident did not happen 10 years ago, this position would have belonged to the eldest daughter.
After hearing this news, Andrea was stunned at first; then her eyes started to turn dim. After a moment's silence, she spoke, "In any case, the family leader of the Quinn can't be changed at the moment, and His Majesty would like you to go one step further and not back down now. In the current situation, other than Earl Quinn of the three big families, he won't recognize any other agent."
"What does that mean?" Horford was a bit confused about the meaning of her words, "The Majesty you referred to is—"
"Who else but the king of Graycastle, His Majesty Roland Wimbledon. I've come here this time under his orders." Andrea took a deep breath and spelled out her next words one by one. "My lord, how do you feel about being the new King of Dawn?"