Chapter 365 (1/2)
Chapter 365: The Journey to the West
Translator: Meh/TransN Editor: – –
Petrov yawned, sat up in his bed, and immediately felt a chill run through his upper body. He would stay in his bed forever if he could, where it was warm and had Shirley’s company.
“Don’t you want to sleep a little more?” The woman beside him turned over and mumbled groggily, “It’s still early, isn’t it?”
He bent over and kissed her forehead—Shirley had brown hair that fell in soft ringlets, skin as smooth as a baby’s, and a pair of lovely round eyes. When he first met her at the Longsong Theatre, it took no more than a glance for him to be completely drawn by her eyes.
“I think it’s almost noon, so I should head downstairs to see if there is any official business to attend to.” Petrov whispered. “Go back to bed if you don’t want to get up, and I’ll have attendants bring lunch to you a while later.”
“But I want you to stay here with me.” Shirley wrapped her arm around his waist. “It’s snowing outside anyways, so what official business could there be?”
She wasn’t wrong. Ever since the Months of Demons arrived, the entire city immediately fell silent. Theater performances became weekly, all the merchants left the markets, and even the taverns shut their doors. If someone had walked on the streets during the day, he might have even thought this was a ghost town.
So… should he sleep for a little longer? After pursuing Shirley for nearly a year, Petrov’s dream finally came true, and he felt a little reluctant to leave. Yesterday’s entire night of joy really wore him out, and now that he had regained his strength, perhaps there could be a second round of joy with Shirley after lunch.
Right at this moment, a knocking came from outside the bedroom.
“Sir Petrov, there is a blue-envelope letter.”
He was shocked and immediately rolled out of bed, picked up the robe that was carelessly tossed on the ground, and draped it on. “I’ll be there in a second.”
“Sir?” Shirley murmured.
“Give me a minute.” Petrov said as he tied his belt hurriedly and left the bedroom. After a while, he returned to the bedroom and crawled into the quilt holding a letter encased in a blue envelope.
“What’s this? Who wrote this to you?” At this point, the woman was basically wide awake. She yawned and sat up to lean against Petrov.
“It’s from Border Town.” Petrov replied. “It must be a letter written by His Highness.”
He opened the envelope and took out the letter, and as he quickly scanned its contents, he couldn’t help but frown. “His Highness orders me to pay a visit to Border Town.”
“Right now?” Shirley exclaimed. “Even in this weather?”
“Yes, it must be about something urgent.” Petrov sighed, “I’ll pack later and leave in the afternoon. You should go home for now, and I’ll visit you as soon as I get back.” He couldn’t help but think of the time a year ago when he sailed through a blizzard to Border Town, bearing the warning from Longsong Stronghold for Duke Ryan. Yet now, he was summoned back to that god-awful place because of a letter from the town Lord in a cruel twist of fate.
“Can’t you just pretend you didn’t receive it?” She said, annoyed. “Even though he conquered the Longsong Stronghold, you’re the actual ruler here. Even if it were the King’s order, you didn’t have to immediately carry it out, right?”
If it were from the Duke, it would have been possible. However, Petrov knew Prince Roland’s impatience full well. He could only lovingly stroke her head. “That’s not the same. The King might not pay attention to the Western Region, but His Highness Roland can… He isn’t only the Lord of Border Town, but the ruler of the entire Western Region.”
…
During the Months of Demons, there truly wasn’t much official business to attend to in Longsong Stronghold. After delegating a few tasks to his underlings and placing the town under his father Earl Hull’s charge, Petrov left the castle. Different from last time when he was only accompanied by one assistant, this time he sailed on the Duke’s private ship—the Lionheart, with more than ten attendants and apprentices, as well as two family knights. It was quite a spectacular scene.