Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"In the secret compartment of the study... lie chips powerful enough to threaten those Grand Dukes. They are the fruit of my life's work. Remember, Elizabeth, the more you know, the greater the danger you are in. You must protect yourself and the secrets you guard. It's best if these secrets remain hidden forever, never to be seen in public." Duke Caister closed his eyes. "Only secrets that remain undisclosed can restrain the necks of these vicious beasts."

This was the only thing he could teach his successor.

She is a smart person, even smarter than the emperor, and she is good at hiding her intelligence. She has been hiding herself. She is deep-minded and good at playing the role of a harmless girl, but she also has a cruel side in her heart. Although she did not take action directly in the end, she had already made up her mind to kill and silence the witness.

Elizabeth Victoria Castle, his nominal wife, is an unfaithful woman with a twisted love for her brother. She is insecure and will not tell her true feelings to anyone.

Very good, very good, she was born to be a Caister.

Caister has never relied on blood inheritance to continue its existence. Caister is a spirit, or a will. They must keep their mouths shut. They must hide in the dark, in the darkest shadows of Victoria, always spying on everyone.

The Duke of Caister knows the darkest and most sinful secrets of this country, and these secrets are often passed down from generation to generation, and every Caister bears these responsibilities.

"Lord Protector of the Country."

"You said."

“Is there really another world after death?”

“…Perhaps.”

"...If that really exists...it's really...scary."

He paused, finally opened his eyes, and said his last weak words to Elizabeth beside him.

"Now, you are also Kaister..."

The Duke of Caster's breathing and heartbeat stopped at the same time. This Grand Duke seemed to have maintained a kind of secrecy throughout his life. He did not ally with any duke, and his existence was often the biggest disharmony among the entire aristocracy. The title of Duke of Caster was also inherited from his adoptive father.

All this made him out of place in the aristocratic circle.

He was a man who had remained silent all his life, and now, he was finally silent forever.

-

"Fairy, can I ask you a question?"

"Ask, for his sake, I can even agree to one of your requests."

"Why did he remain silent all his life?" Elizabeth looked at the deceased Duke of Caster. At first, she only thought that the Duke of Caster was an old-fashioned and taciturn old man, and her marriage to him was just a political marriage, or even just a means for the royal family to infiltrate the aristocracy.

But she suddenly realized that this man who used to be her husband...she seemed to have never thought about getting to know him.

The first half of her life had always revolved around one person, that was her brother. All her joys and sorrows were because of him. But after leaving him, Elizabeth was confused. She was not used to leaving her brother, and she didn't like coming to a place like this and becoming someone else's wife. To be honest...even the first time they looked at each other was after she did that thing. It was through the window that they met eyes for the first time.

She didn't see anger in those eyes, only calmness and sadness...

It is a kind of sadness that is not caused by anger at one's own experience, but a sadness that is like watching a dazzling sun slowly falling into the sea level. It is a sadness that is greater than the death of one's heart.

What was this old man thinking at that time?

Do you think they are stupid and short-sighted, or do you feel sad for this country?

Elizabeth didn't understand, so she wanted an answer, an answer from a fairy.

In this way, she could convince herself, she could believe that perhaps all this was just... a dream, and in fact, nothing had happened that night. The fairies, the old duke, these were all dreams. As long as she went back to sleep, when she woke up, the old duke would have died of natural causes. There was no fairy, no miracle, and no [secret].

How she wanted it to be like this...

"Silence wasn't the only option, Elizabeth Victoria Caister." The fairy shook her head. "It's just that he chose silence. He secretly collected so many [Secrets]—secrets that could have allowed him to ascend to the pinnacle of the nobility, even to control many Grand Dukes, but he didn't do that."

The Duke of Caister, who was nearly forty years older than Elizabeth, witnessed Victoria's most glorious period.

There was no doubt that he loved Victoria, who was at the peak of her career at the time.

Even the poorest beggar of the day would straighten his body with pride when Londinium was mentioned.

The greatest Victoria, the sun that never sets.

However, this child with the most ardent hopes became the Duke of Caister by accident.

——Perhaps when he saw those secrets, the sun in his heart had already set.

Perhaps, he was already dead at that time.

Chapter 44: The truth comes out

Let's go back to the memory fragment where Noah was. I don't know if it was because of the influence of the fairy, but Noah did not see the scene of Duke Caster's transformation. The memory fragment was forcibly jumped to after the funeral, when the old Duke Caster passed away. Naturally, the old Duke Caster had no children or relatives, so the inheritance rights fell on Elizabeth. She thought that this was the original plan. Although her brother avoided her, he let Elizabeth inherit the title according to the original plan.

I think he was probably feeling relieved about the old duke's death... After all, he and his sister actually did that kind of thing, and he was feeling complicated. As an emperor, he naturally wanted to cover up the matter as much as possible and treat it as a mistake that never happened.

That's right, he handled it very well and decisively. He had already handled the old duke's funeral and the subsequent handover issues without many people even realizing it. This also had to be handled quickly, otherwise it would be too late for the dukes to come to their senses.

Elizabeth was no fool. She knew this had to happen. If it were leaked, both her brother and herself would be in deep trouble. Not to mention the fact that this matter itself was unacceptable to the world, just giving this information to the nobles was enough to make Elizabeth know how they would use it. Fortunately, her brother had handled it promptly, so she should... not have to worry about anything.

Those words that Duke Caister said before he died, and that fairy who came and went without a trace... I wish it was just a dream.

"...What dream?"

Elizabeth raised her head and looked at her brother who had appeared beside her. She was surprised at first, but then a smile appeared on her face. "I didn't expect you to approach me on your own initiative."

"...I can pretend that never happened." The elder brother's expression was strange. He had never looked so shaken before. For that reason alone, Elizabeth was actually quite happy. "Elizabeth, it's impossible for us."

"...I know." Elizabeth knew this. Ultimately, it was all just emotion and impulsiveness. "Brother, I know my limits. Our relationship cannot be recognized by the world, but..."

Elizabeth's eyes showed a hint of fatigue.

"Don't hide from me, okay?"

"..." My brother didn't respond. His expression was hidden in the shadows, only half of it was exposed to me, just like in the past... He always left me with only his back...

Alas...why were they born in a royal family?

It seemed that from the very beginning, her love affair was nothing but tragedy.

But now, she only needs to be a good Grand Duke of Kaster. Her brother will never make a move casually. Just like when they played chess in the past, her brother could always calculate far ahead. Unlike her who only cared about the gains and losses in the present, he always looked further ahead and wanted to take control of the situation in his own hands.

...Perhaps, she is the only one who is not suitable to be born into the royal family.

-

"...The result turned out to be like this..." Noah hid in the crowd at the funeral, looking at the illicit brother and sister on the stage, and sighed silently, "Vina will definitely think I'm talking nonsense... Hey, to be honest, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

Noah felt that she had seen enough and was about to leave this memory fragment when she suddenly felt something in her heart. She turned around and saw someone in the crowd... To be precise, it was someone she knew.

"...Roland? Why is she here?" She was puzzled at first, then suddenly remembered. "No, she was randomly spawning in Victoria... But, she appeared here... Could it be..."

Roland's appearance seemed to provide a reasonable explanation for the brother and sister's regrettable ending. It would not be surprising if all this was related to this fairy.

The immortal of the unicorn clan can even be said to be like their own ancestor. She cannot be considered a bad person. She has a simple moral value and is fundamentally different from those playful beast masters.

But she is still not human, so what she does... sometimes goes beyond the scope of sex.

Noah connected these clues together and seemed to have figured something out. If it was really as she thought... then the reason why Elizabeth betrayed her brother... was probably not out of simple emotional reasons.

"Forget it, there's no point in overthinking it...would be better to just ask the person himself."

Noya finally opened her eyes. This time, no one knew about her infiltration, not even Elizabeth, the Grand Duchess of Kaster. After all, in her eyes, she had merely paused for a moment, caught by the beauty of the music. She was like a skilled thief, leaving no trace, not even the victim aware. But… even with the intelligence she had obtained, Noya didn't feel safe.

If the Duke of Caster was originally intended as a royal pawn placed within the aristocracy, why did this pawn jump out of the chessboard and become a player?

You know, based on Elizabeth's memory, the late emperor's methods didn't seem like someone who would be stabbed in the back by the nobles. Although it might be Elizabeth's own filter beautification, after all, memories are very likely to be beautified. But she didn't think that the late emperor who was praised like this would make any huge mistakes. If nothing unexpected happened, her ancestor might really have to bear the blame...

No, even when she later transformed into the leader of the rebel army, it was probably also intended to patch things up.

...I didn't expect that it would be related to my family in the end. Victoria's affairs are really complicated.

While thinking, Noah pressed the last note and stood up to express his gratitude. Those guests who knew a little about music were already shocked by Noah's performance. Some of them were even still immersed in the music. Those who didn't understand much... just thought it was simply beautiful, so they didn't hesitate to applaud.

"What a perfect performance! I didn't expect Kjerag to have such an excellent musician." Elizabeth sighed sincerely, "I underestimated Kjerag."

"This musician was once quite famous in Lethania. We were able to invite her only because she was traveling in Kjerag recently." Enthiotis's response was flawless, without even a single lie. After all, Noah was really famous in Lethania, and the title of successor to the Witch King was a direct threat to the two queens. It was certainly not a lie, and her recent trip to Kjerag was the truth of the matter.

"I'm honored to receive your praise," Noah replied with a smile. "I'm just an unknown musician, not worthy of your remembrance."

"Victoria is a country that values ​​art. If this lady is interested in developing her career in Victoria, you can contact me. Here is my contact information." Handing over her business card, Elizabeth's eyes were full of admiration. At her level, it was actually the top. When material needs were no longer meaningful, people would naturally pursue inner needs. So people at this level, whether they really liked it or just agreed with it, would have some knowledge of art. With her vision, she could naturally see the excellence of Noah's playing.

"Thank you for the invitation, Miss Kaster. I'll definitely come back if I have the chance." Noah took the business card and gave Enchiodis a calm look. Enchiodis immediately understood and nodded. "I'm sure the great musician is tired. Go take a rest and enjoy this banquet."

"Okay." Noah lifted her skirt and saluted, then turned and left. As soon as she was out of Duke Kaster's sight, she immediately quickened her pace, took out the terminal, and called her ancestor.

Thanks to the mobile base station manufactured by Agor and Rhine Life, Rhodes Island soon received the message. The first person to answer the phone was Amiya. This time, she did not accompany them into Kjerag. After all, she still needed to coordinate the affairs of Rhodes Island. After receiving Noya's call, she first adjusted her appearance, looked in the mirror, and pressed the answer button after confirming that there was nothing wrong.

"Ms. Noah... Hey, who are you?" Amiya greeted with a smile, but on the other side was a strange face. She was startled and asked hesitantly.

"Ah... I forgot." Noah wiped her face, and her true appearance was immediately revealed. She was so anxious just now that she completely forgot that she was still in disguise. She smiled awkwardly, "Amiya, my ancestor... ah, is Roland still in Rhodes Island?"

"Miss Roland... I haven't received her request to leave the ship, but she comes and goes without a trace, so she probably doesn't care about this. Do you need my help to find her?" Amiya tilted her head and thought for a moment, then gave her opinion frankly, "But I haven't seen Miss Roland in a long time, so please don't get your hopes up."

"...Ancestor..." Noah covered his face, "I'm sorry, my ancestor has caused you trouble. If possible, please help me contact him."

"It's okay, Miss Noah, I'll be right here..." Amiya had just turned on the ship's broadcasting system. It was good news for her to be able to help Miss Noah. Soon, a voice spread throughout Rhodes Island.

"Ms. Roland, if you hear this, please come to the command room immediately. Miss Noya wants to see you." Amiya's voice echoed throughout the ship, and many operators who were rubbing their gold coins with their heads down looked up. They soon began to argue about the topic. "Who is Roland?"

"I don't know, never heard of him. Is he a new operator?"

"You ask me? How could I possibly know? Ask Zilan. Isn't she in the HR department?"

"...I don't remember anyone named Roland joining the company. Is he a guest on the island?"

"Then we should register... Do you want to help Amiya find it?"

"There are broadcasts everywhere on the island, so you should be able to hear it. And do you know what she looks like?"

"It really is."

The operators had no impression of Roland, and Roland herself, no... should be called Clovisia. When she registered, she registered under the name Clovisia, so most people didn't know the name Roland at all. Although this young lady of the Protectorate had countless names and identities, she was actually a very low-key person.

Beings like her, or rather, those [compatriots] who are similar to her, actually have similar characteristics.

In comparison, she is even considered a moderate. She will not do bad things on her own accord, but even so, she will mess up some things unintentionally.

When she heard that Noah was looking for her, Clovisia felt her heart tighten for some reason.

Her intuition told her that this was definitely not a good thing, and it was most likely that the trouble she had caused would be exposed... But after thinking about it carefully, Clovisia decided to give up. It was not because she couldn't remember, but because she had messed up so many things that she couldn't count them all. Although she was Noah's ancestor, she was really a little afraid of Noah now.

It is no exaggeration to say that Noah has now grown to a level that makes most of the extraordinary beings on Terra feel terrified, especially her type who basically relies on spiritual power to exist. People of the same type as her, such as the black snake of Ursus, are actually more afraid of Noah, who has a terrifyingly strong spiritual power.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Noah wanted to, it would not be a problem to stew her and the black snake in one pot.

Although he is clearly a descendant of his own, he possesses a strength that would make his ancestors sweat. In a sense, he is truly better than his master...

But it was too late to worry about these things now. Any of the troubles he had caused would have made Noah furious...

For example, he did a little work when he annexed Tara, which was originally an independent kingdom, according to the Red Dragon's wishes. Or he listened to Aslan's wishes and took away the Red Dragon's throne. Or... he even tempted Vina to ascend the throne...

No... I seem to have too many messes. What if Noah finds out about all of them? My mess is so big that I don't even know what Noah has found on me. She took a deep breath and calmed down. But now I can't just pretend I didn't hear it. What if Noah gets really angry and comes back to beat me up?

By then, I'm afraid I will really have to go to Cambridge University with the sea urchin brother and the seagull brother.

After weighing the pros and cons, Clovisia decided to stand at attention and be beaten. After all, she was the ancestor of Noah's ancestor, so it shouldn't be too embarrassing for her, right?

I guess so?

Clovisia took a deep breath, turned and walked towards the command room. Those who didn't know her would think she was going to the execution ground.

But in Clovisia's opinion, maybe it's really about the same.

Chapter 45: Pleasure Prisoner

"That musician just now...somehow, he seemed familiar." Duke Caister frowned. Although she hadn't realized it when they first met, after careful consideration, perhaps because Noa's Originium skills had reduced their influence, Duke Caister's suspicion once again took over. She immediately considered whether to send Gray Hat to investigate the identity of this "Unknown Musician."

This caution was the foundation of her journey to this point. After all, in the treacherous political arena, anyone who had made it this far was likely to be more cunning than a sieve. Suspicion might not be a good thing in some places, but in Victoria, only by taking every step with the utmost caution could one remain undefeated.

After the banquet, Duke Kast immediately summoned the intelligence personnel operating in Kjerag, namely the Faceless Man. Less than half an hour after she called according to the secret code of the intelligence personnel, the Faceless Man hurriedly appeared, knelt on one knee, and lowered his head before Duke Kast, just like countless times before.

Duke of Kaster naturally didn't notice anything wrong. She simply assigned people to investigate the nameless musician. Based on the nameless people's abilities, they would probably be able to report the musician's life story in no time. However, Duke of Kaster didn't realize that the faceless man wasn't thinking about any intelligence at that moment.

——As expected of the Duke of Caister, he is so perceptive.

The man in the gray hat sighed in his heart that he and Noah had both underestimated the rich experience of a duke. This experience had gradually turned into something similar to wild intuition. Under this unreasonable intuition, the effect of Noah's disguise could be said to be greatly reduced. Fortunately, the gray hat could make up for this.

No matter how accurate Duke Caister's intuition is, now that the intelligence channels have been completely controlled by the Faceless Man, she is powerless.

-

On a separate note, while the Faceless Man was meeting with Duke Kaster, Vina had also returned to her temporary residence. Besides coordinating with Noya, she also seriously wanted to establish diplomatic relations with Kjerag. Victoria was currently alienated by the Terran nations. After all, the prolonged period of chaos had caused many countries that had originally established embassies in Londinium to voluntarily evacuate their personnel. Although Victoria was now back to normal, the evacuated diplomats were unlikely to return immediately, so Victoria truly needed a statement...

It said Victoria's diplomacy had been completely normalised and that normal diplomatic processes needed to be restored.

The direction of breaking the ice is naturally Kjerag, a country that has just joined Terra's core circle. Although it is backward, it has vigorous vitality and national cohesion.

Vina was quite envious of Kjerag's situation. The three major families in the Snow Region were all working together, with no one lagging behind, and they were wholeheartedly pushing the country to complete modernization and industrialization. This motivation made Kjerag, a newly emerging country, seem to have endless power. In just one year, it had undergone earth-shaking changes.