“Sister Debbie… is that you?” Hearing Prince Gail speak to Debbie in such a trembling tone, his once sharp eyes gradually moistening, the entire scene fell into stunned silence. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at this bewildering moment.
Only Ye Chui’s group had a vague inkling of what was happening.
Especially Ye Chui. They had not panicked under the Black Guards’ encirclement because Ye Chui had anticipated this turn of events. In fact, the current situation was even better than he had imagined.
They had long suspected that Debbie had experienced a time distortion when entering the previous relic world. For instance, her outdated clothing, which she claimed was “the most fashionable in the capital,” her mismatched knowledge of the current continental politics, and the Anduin family not being as powerful as she described.
Most crucially, few knew of the powerful gold-spending heroic spirit Jirga. Old Swordsman Dustin in Fengyan City knew of Jirga but said her last appearance was over sixty years ago, summoned by a genius summoner at the time. Ye Chui had later secretly asked Jirga, learning that before contracting with Debbie, she had not been summoned for over a century.
All this indicated that Debbie was not from this era. The girl herself had simply never considered it.
Ye Chui exchanged glances with Green and Lesha. Debbie’s time travel was now confirmed. While Ye Chui, Green, and Lesha wore expressions of “as expected,” Debbie herself was utterly bewildered. She stared wide-eyed at the old man before her. After a moment, his aged face overlapped with a handsome one from her memory. She asked strangely, “You’re… Little Seven?”
Prince Gail had been the Seventh Prince back then, and Debbie had always called him Little Seven.
Hearing this, tears finally rolled from Prince Gail’s eyes. Only one person in his life had ever called him Little Seven, such an affectionate name. He nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, it’s me, Little Seven. After you vanished suddenly, we searched tirelessly for you but found no trace. To think I’d meet you here… How, how are you here?”
Debbie’s body trembled too. “Right, how am I here…” She looked at Ye Chui, her face dawning with realisation. “Wait, relic worlds tied to the Goddess of Wealth can cause time distortions… The half-month I spent there was actually decades!?”
Ye Chui nodded. That was it, girl. You finally get it. Do you know we’ve been dying to tell you but couldn’t bring ourselves to? We hoped you’d figure it out, but you never paid attention.
Realising she had truly time-traveled, Debbie’s mind spun with dizziness. Her body swayed, a mix of disbelief and strange novelty washing over her.
At this point, the Fourth Prince could no longer hold back. He approached Prince Gail, his face full of shock. “Seventh Grandpa, what, what is going on? Who, who is she!?”
“Kem, she is your…” Prince Gail, usually decisive and stern, was now too emotional to think straight. Tilting his head, he pondered the relation. Debbie was his peer, and the Fourth Prince called him grandpa, so calling Debbie would be…
“…your Grandma Debbie.”
“Gran… grandma?” The Fourth Prince’s face twisted in bitterness, his gaze shifting to the girl who looked even younger than him.
The bewildered girl immediately perked up, raising her chin and puffing out her chest. Call me grandma, quick! She had clashed with the Fourth Prince since they met. Suddenly becoming his elder felt incredibly satisfying.
Under Prince Gail’s insistent gaze, Debbie’s expectant eyes, and the Fourth Prince’s humiliated heart, he mumbled in a tiny voice, “Grandma… Debbie.”
“Oh, good job,” Debbie said, beaming happily. Remembering her friends, she pointed at them. “This is your Grandpa Ye Chui, Grandma Lesha, Grandma Green, Grandma Cass, Grandma Winsa, Grandma Guni…”
The Fourth Prince: “…”
Veins throbbed on his forehead.
This was an insult to him as a royal prince!
He glared angrily at Prince Gail. Seventh Grandpa, they’re humiliating a royal prince. Can you stand for it? But he saw Prince Gail smiling cheerfully, not caring in the slightest.
Back then, Sister Debbie had been a wild force in the capital. Even the late emperor had had his beard yanked by her. Sister Debbie was still the same, treating the royals with utter disregard. How nostalgic!
His gaze suddenly caught the Black Guards around them, still vigilant with swords pointed at Ye Chui’s group. Prince Gail flew into a rage, storming over and kicking one to the ground. “Put away your weapons! If you dare harm Sister Debbie, I’ll skin you alive! All of you, scram!”
The usually imposing Black Guards were berated like grandsons, meekly sheathing their swords and retreating.
Prince Gail tugged at Debbie’s arm. “Sister Debbie, let’s head back first. I never dreamed I’d see you again in this lifetime. You must tell me everything you’ve been through these years.”
“It felt like just months to me, but oh, my stories are thrilling,” Debbie said excitedly, waving to Ye Chui, Green, and Lesha before following Prince Gail. The Black Guards and city guards fell in line, heading to the lord’s mansion.
Prince Gail was currently residing there.
The large procession marched grandly through the streets.
The Fourth Prince trailed behind with a gloomy face. He had thought leaving the relic world meant he could deal with Ye Chui’s group as he pleased. As a powerful royal prince, he controlled Fengyan City’s forces. Those mages and swordsmen from a remote town, no matter how skilled, couldn’t match an army. He had decided that if they died in the relic world, fine, but if they survived, he’d make them pay!
Yet now, everything was beyond his expectations.
His mind flashed to his first meeting with Debbie. She had called him an old acquaintance out of nowhere, dubbing him Chubby.
Chubby…
He had never been fat as a child, but his imperial grandfather had been quite plump in his youth.
The Fourth Prince suddenly recalled a conversation with the old emperor after drinks.
Due to his resemblance to the old emperor and both being Fourth Princes, he was favoured. The old emperor shared many secrets. Once, while drinking, he mentioned a youthful friend.
“The Anduin family is weak now, but decades ago, they were a great house, close to the royals. Their little princess was a stunning genius. Royal princes and princesses, noble sons, no matter how arrogant, behaved around her. Though younger, she was the true big sister. Your Seventh Grandpa Gail was her top sidekick. Look at him now, fierce and unruly. That personality came from her.”
“The Anduin family had someone like that? Why haven’t I heard?” the Fourth Prince had asked then.
“Sigh, she vanished at sixteen,” the old emperor said with a hiccup, sighing. “Countless princes and nobles adored her, but none worthy. I was older but liked her despite her bullying. I secretly asked Father to arrange a betrothal. When she heard, she chased me through the capital’s main street. Heh, it caused a city-wide scandal.”
The Fourth Prince had been stunned. “And then?”
“The betrothal fell through. I was timid, so I left the royals, asking Father to make me a prince to toughen up. He agreed, and I left the capital. I had no emperor ambitions. Years passed, I grew bolder, but then she vanished.”
Here, the old emperor’s face filled with regret. Even after decades, his eyes showed lingering pain.
“She triggered a faulty teleportation coordinate and was sent away. Who knows where? The Anduin head hired grand mages from the Magicians’ Guild. The imperial family helped too, but no trace. She was presumed dead… Sigh, my life’s greatest regret.”
The Fourth Prince still remembered the old emperor’s melancholy.
But it was an old tale from decades ago. Time magic was legendary, rare and unverified. The Fourth Prince had been amazed but dismissed it.
In the relic world, when Debbie called him Chubby, he felt only rage, never linking her to the old emperor’s Anduin princess.
Until now.
At this thought, the Fourth Prince shivered, feeling a chill.
Seventh Grandpa and the old emperor clearly held special feelings for Debbie. Old capital figures with influence likely knew her too. From Prince Gail’s reaction, Debbie still wielded immense sway!
The old emperor’s health was failing, and the succession war loomed. Among the twelve princes, he lagged behind the First in status, the Third in talent, the Eighth in respect, and even the babbling Twelfth in the old emperor’s favour.
But now, a golden opportunity lay before him!
Debbie was the ultimate succession weapon!
If he befriended her, leveraging her influence on the old emperor, his chances could soar!
Realising this, the Fourth Prince wanted to slap himself. Why had he antagonised Debbie’s group?
And when she made him call Ye Chui and the others grandpa and grandma, he had complied. Maybe that earned him points with them…
What a blunder!
He looked at the exuberant Debbie ahead, smug and whispering to Ye Chui. Prince Gail clung to her arm, his aged face full of emotion, wiping tears repeatedly, more than when his wife died.
“I still have a chance!” the Fourth Prince resolved inwardly.
Ye Chui and Debbie would likely stay in Fengyan City awhile. Before other princes learned of her, he’d seize every moment to curry favour, at any cost!
