Chapter 1328 - City of White (5) (2/2)

Although it was definitely a good thing for the giant to live in Candy Mountain, her expression, at that moment, didn’t appear excited at all. On the contrary, she stared blankly in the direction where the little queen had left and had a complicated expression on her face. And upon seeing her expression, the battle angel gave a light snort and said.

“Why? Do you still want to go back now?”

“N-No, it isn’t about that…”

After hearing the battle angel’s question, the giant waved her hand in a fluster. But even so, she continued to gaze somewhat reluctantly in the direction the little queen had left in. The giant was at a total loss.

And at that moment, Rhode, who watched indifferently from the side, finally figured out the existence of those three. They were more like the physical embodiments of Celia’s inner spirit. The giant was much more naive and innocent, curious about everything, and didn’t understand much about human emotions and what to say. She was supposed to represent the most primitive part of Celia’s ‘instincts’.

On the other hand, the little queen was more self-centered, so she was the proof of Celia’s ‘ego’. As for the battle angel, it was obvious that she was the symbol of Celia’s ‘rationality’. Judging from the relationship and status of these three parties, ‘rationality’ was her strongest point, while ‘ego’ was her weakest flaw. This was also in line with Rhode’s impression of Celia.

In fact, there were many things he did that Celia disliked. For instance, he once summoned the undead army to massacre innocent civilians during the war in the south. And later, he caused confusion and disorder in the border cities of the Country of Light and also bombarded Casabianca. All of these were hard for Celia to accept. In the end, she didn’t voice her objection openly, but at the very most contributed with reluctance.

At this thought, Rhode shook his head. Was this how Celia struggled whenever she faced his decision? Like now; perhaps she didn’t like it and her instincts were against it, but in the end, her ‘rationality’ overrode everything and made her choose to remain silent. Rhode wouldn’t change his ways for anyone, or he would have already done so. But he thought that he would be able to communicate better if he could. And if Celia had to struggle like this every time she was faced with an order that went against her will, he wouldn’t be able to feel at ease at all.

It seemed like this trip to the mental world wasn’t the slightest bit in vain… Rhode had never expected to be able to discover the hidden issues within Celia’s heart in a world that seemed like a childish fairy tale. Perhaps this was what was necessary for the holder and card spirit to have an inner communication for awakening.

But now wasn’t the time for that. Rhode sensed that the key was how to deal with the conflicts between the three of them. The battle angel was too sensible and mature, while the giant was too naive and innocent. She could have clearly not said those words earlier, but she still said them and ended up angering the little queen. And it was true that the little queen was devoted to the giant’s good and also wanted the giant to be a citizen in her country. However, the little queen was just thinking from her own point of view and not the other’s, so naturally she would be dissatisfied with the giant’s choices and statements. Despite that, the battle angel wouldn’t pay attention to this contradiction. She saw her decision as the best way, so she wouldn’t abandon it just because there was a conflict between the two sides.

A fairy tale-like mental world sure has a lot of trouble.

At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help shaking his head. This was Celia’s mental world, but what would happen if he were in Celestina’s instead? She had always been at odds with him. Although he used the ‘bullying’ method to force Celestina to change, he couldn’t be sure that he could figure out the demon young lady’s inner thoughts.

And when he returned to the candy city, the world had taken a completely different look.

The bustling city was now cold and cheerless. The azure sky was covered by thick, dark clouds with rain pouring down and enveloping the entire city in a torrential downpour. This scene wasn’t too strange to Rhode. This was Celia’s mental world and the little queen, as one of the representatives of Celia’s personality, would naturally affect it. And now, it seemed like she was clearly in a bad mood. Not only was the rain pouring down, but thunder was also clapping as if the world were reaching its end.

Rhode entered the royal palace again, and this time it was dead quiet. The two battle angels who guarded the place before were also nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, upon hearing the vague sound of sobbing, he managed to find where the little queen was. He had to admit that it felt rather creepy to be alone in this deserted, fairy tale-like castle, hearing the echoing cries of a little girl among the heavy downpour, flashes of lightning, and thunderclap that was going on on the outside…

Knock, knock, knock.

Rhode stopped in front of a door made of candy apples. He reached out his hand and knocked lightly on the door. Soon, along with this action, the crying from behind the door stopped. After a few moments, the little queen’s sobbing voice rang out.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Your Majesty. Rhode.”

“Mr. Traveler?”

When the little queen heard Rhode’s response, she responded plainly before paddling her way to the closed door. The door opened slowly and the little queen appeared in front of him in pajamas. He could tell that she was in a bad mood and had just cried buckets. Her eyes were still red and listless. Upon seeing her current state, Rhode sighed inwardly, looked at her, and revealed a charming smile.

“May I come in for a seat?”

“Yes… You may…”

Facing his question, the little queen nodded, pulled the door open, and let him into the room. The two of them sat down on the chairs by the window. Looking at the little queen in front of him, Rhode shook his head and said.

“Are you upset?”

“Yes… Mr. Traveler. I thought things through for her, but I never expected her to say something like that. It’s so disappointing!”

As the little queen grumbled, she clenched her fists again. It was clear that she was really disappointed with the giant’s answer.

“So you just gave up?”

“But… That annoying person was also right…”

“Of course, I know she’s right.”

Rhode smiled as he interrupted the little queen. At that moment, he already knew how to handle the relationship between the three of them.

“But at many times, not being wrong doesn’t make you right. Your Majesty, you’ve indeed considered a lot for her. But those are your thoughts, after all. Why don’t you listen to what she has to say?”

“That…”

Upon hearing Rhode’s words, the little queen couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“Is that really fine?”

“I guess you can give it a shot, Your Majesty.”

Facing the little queen’s doubt, Rhode revealed another gentle smile.

“I think as long as you try your best, you’ll get somewhere.”

[1] Leaders and peacekeepers in the Star Wars universe.

[2] An American epic space-opera media franchise.