When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 542: Chapter 423 Cry for Me (Third Update) Chapter 542: Chapter 423 Cry for Me (Third Update) “Aiwass,” Isabel asked seriously, “I hope this isn’t offensive…

but if I remember correctly, you used to live in an orphanage, right?”

“Yes.” Aiwass nodded.

Isabel, somewhat reluctantly, spoke softly, “I also made a special trip to visit the orphanage.

The children there were eating this brown paste, the ingredients of which I couldn’t even recognize, and even such food was not enough to fill their bellies.

They had no cotton clothes and no hot water for bathing during winter.

The orphanage lacked separate toilets for boys and girls, let alone private stalls.

Everyone slept together, with many children sharing the same bed.”

“The orphanages on Glass Island must be different from the ones outside.”

Aiwass sighed and explained, “The orphanage where I stayed was funded by my foster father’s investments.

Although we hardly had enough to eat, we had meat every week.

Even during the holidays, there would be roast chicken, roast meat, fried cod fillets, and sheep offal pudding.

As for not eating enough…

it was to prevent the children from becoming too energetic and causing a ruckus.

It’s similar to how prisoners aren’t allowed to eat their fill in jail.

“As for sleeping—we didn’t have private rooms either, but we did have individual beds.

There were eight to twelve beds in one room, and I would always sleep holding Yulia.

She would get scared and her body temperature would rise if she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t see me.”

“…Even orphanages are not the same, huh.”

Isabel murmured, “Why would that be…”

Aiwass shook his head slightly and said softly, “Because of the port, Isabel.

Glass Island has Avalon’s largest port, and the most Gryphons and Knights to guard the merchants and goods.

This way, wealth naturally gathers here from all directions.”

Seeing Isabel shaken, Aiwass felt somewhat relieved.

——There always has to be a first time.

Nowadays, Isabel lacked the experience of wandering with her country shattered and her home destroyed; such an experience of “visiting incognito” was not too bad for her.

And the shock she is now experiencing, the pain and confusion she is feeling…

they all show that even without enduring such suffering, without becoming the tough ‘Queen Vanhua,’ Isabel still retains that kind and tender heart that is hers.

As a monarch, she might appear slightly weak, but Aiwass would rather pledge loyalty to such an Isabel.

Aiwass said gently, “I will help you, Isabel.”

Having said that, Aiwass then laid out all the details of the trade he had conducted with Geront.

Isabel was very clever.

Before Aiwass could explain, she immediately responded, “With the freight railways, the economies of remote cities should be able to improve somewhat, right?”

“The difference before and after will be like heaven and earth.”

Aiwass responded decisively, “In places where even carriages struggle to transport goods, if a high-speed railway connecting the entire country were to run through…

without a doubt, wealth and happiness would balloon at a visibly fast rate.”

If you want prosperity, build roads first.

That saying is definitely true.

“In that case…

I have plenty of methods now!”

Isabel’s eyes widened with excitement, the previously dimmed emerald pupils brightened once more due to fatigue and sorrow, “Thank you, Aiwass!

I will find a way to allow Goblins and Trolls to enter Avalon for construction.

As for the port…

um, leave the rest to me!”

At this point, she suddenly paused, then asked curiously, “But…

the money Geront gave you, is that considered a bribe?”

However, Isabel quickly realized her words sounded inappropriate and, in a bit of a panic, she hastened to clarify, “Ah, I don’t mean to interrogate; it’s your money, you’ve been a great help to me.

It’s just…

I’m a little curious, because it’s my first time seeing…”

“——Yes.”

While Isabel was still struggling with how to phrase her question, Aiwass directly and affirmatively replied, “It’s not just a bribe, but also an encouragement.”

“Encouragement?” Isabel was puzzled.

“While my family has some money, there’s a difference between liquid assets and fixed assets, not to mention this is a substantial amount of money completely free from market regulation.

Having this significant amount of ready cash flow directly to my hands, I could easily leverage it to exert several times the actual influence…”

Aiwass explained.

Seeing Isabel somewhat confused, her tired brain seemingly unable to process this information, Aiwass simply skipped the intermediate steps and directly stated the conclusion, “This is his financial support for my bid for power.”

“…Huh?”

Isabel was bemused for quite a while.

She hesitated for a moment and asked in a faint voice, “Are you plotting to take power, Aiwass?

If that’s the case, I could just…”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Aiwass gestured dismissively, “What I mean is, he’s nurturing my ambitions by removing the Bindings on me…

the saying ‘when a man gets money, he becomes bad,’ probably refers to this.”

“…So does that mean he’s a bad person?” After a moment’s pause, Isabel asked.

“He’s no saint.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together.”

Aiwass laughed and said, “After all, people aren’t always good, but money surely is.

With his sponsorship, all the issues that worry and pain you can be resolved.

You don’t need to worry about these things, just leave them all to me to handle…”

He had only gotten this far when Isabel suddenly rose from the table and threw herself into Aiwass’s arms.

It was less of an embrace and more like she had crashed into him.

She buried her head in the crook of Aiwass’s neck, one leg half-kneeling on Aiwass’s thigh and her whole body sprawling, forcefully pressing her head against Aiwass’s shoulder.

It was as if she were trying to calm her silent cries, or maybe it was a sigh of sorrow, or perhaps just the yawn of someone waking from a deep dream…

She took a trembling deep breath and then slowly released a warm breath.@@novelbin@@

Her body also trembled slightly with each breath.

With every breath she took, her grip on Aiwass’s elbow and fingers also tightened slightly.

Even as she held Aiwass’s neck and breathed deeply, Isabel tried to keep a distance between her body and his.

At first, Aiwass thought it was Isabel’s attempt to maintain a distance, but he soon realized—it was out of politeness.

Since Aiwass had never overstepped his bounds with her, Isabel did not want to force or suggest anything with her own power.

…She was naïve and shy, a timid little thing.

She didn’t seem like a beautiful young girl of unparalleled beauty, but more like a cautious little boy who had never been in love.

“It’s okay to come a little closer.”

Aiwass sighed and whispered softly into Isabel’s ear.

He reached out and held her tightly against his back, letting her not be so tense, allowing her to relax and lean completely into him.

Then, he pushed the crown further away on the table to prevent it from knocking over the red tea.

Just by having Isabel pressed against him, Aiwass could clearly feel the weight of the heavy formal wear she had on.

Not to mention how it must have felt for Isabel who had been wearing it all day.

“I’m sorry, Aiwass…”

Isabel’s voice was very soft, as she greedily inhaled the damp scent on Aiwass’s neck fresh from a bath, her fingers unconsciously clinging to his icy jade-like white-gold hair: “I just want to rest for a while…”

As she spoke, her voice gradually took on a faintly discernible sobbing tone: “I’m so tired…

I don’t even know what to do…

but thankfully, you’re here…”

“You’ve made progress so quickly, Isabel.”

Aiwass said comfortingly: “There are few who could have changed everything in such a short amount of time…

It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

He meant what he said from the heart.

From the earliest days when she dared not speak to strangers, to now being able to disguise herself and investigate alone; from the days when she wouldn’t dare act without asking her teachers or grandmother, to now completing pilgrimages around the nation on her own without any Fifth Power Level protector; from when she used to fumble her words after three sentences in her promotion ceremony, to now being able to visit unknown cities and investigate the commoners without having her identity discovered…

Isabel was visibly becoming stronger and growing up at a pace that could be seen with the naked eye.

From the very beginning until now, it had only been two months’ time.

Aiwass gently closed his eyes, hugging Isabel even tighter, as if he were embracing himself.

—How long had it been since he awakened memories of his past life?

How much time had passed since he learned that the world he was familiar with was on the brink of destruction until he resolved it all?

It seemed to have also been only about two months.

Aiwass’s words were as though he was speaking to Isabel, but also as if he were reassuring himself.

He whispered in Isabel’s ear: “So, stop crying.

I am here with you.”

However, as soon as Aiwass uttered these words, Isabel couldn’t hold back any longer.

Her body shook with a quiver, and she burst into tears with a whimper.

Aiwass was somewhat at a loss—at first, Isabel’s sobbing grew louder after the initial cry.

It was like a grievance, yet also a release; like a mournful cry, yet also a sigh of relief.

While she wept, she muttered incoherent apologies, plaintively saying she shouldn’t be crying…

This left Aiwass somewhat helplessly holding onto Her Majesty the Queen, who was just one year his senior, comforting her like a child with “Oh, it’s actually okay to cry once in a while,” unsure whether to cry or to laugh.

But for some reason, Aiwass’s mood inexplicably improved a lot.

It was as if the clouds he hadn’t even noticed himself had been dispersed along with the crying from the depths of his heart.

—As if Isabel had cried out for Aiwass who never wept.