Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 541 - 10 Freya’s Tenderness_1

Chapter 541: Chapter 10 Freya’s Tenderness_1

"You’re telling me all this and then buying my silence?" Freya narrowed her eyes, a cunning expression emerging on her round face, resembling a fox that has just stolen a chicken: "Are you trying to bribe me? Respectable Mister Kyle."

"Indeed, I am trying to bribe you," Pannis’s tone suddenly rose with fervor and he said loudly, "I wish to buy you, name your price. Don’t refuse, no one can resist the right price. You want money? Fame? Status? Power? I’ll give you all these. Want to protect this country? As long as you accept my bribe, I’ll immediately retreat from this land, and I swear, my army will not invade this country by a single inch within a hundred years, I will also not permit any other country’s army to invade. How about it, are you tempted? Just agree to my terms, all this is yours."

"The Sunset of a Tyrant, Act 3 Scene 7," Freya put her hand over mouth, laughing softly like a lady, "I must say, Emperor Rogers’ lines can be quite persuasive. But why did you choose to quote his worst, a real shame."

"Whether it’s of literary quality doesn’t matter, as long as it makes sense," Pannis said nonchalantly, "I have stated my terms, do you intend to reject them?"

"Why don’t you take a guess?" Freya returned in Pannis’s own words. "You seemed to know what I’m thinking, so guess whether I would accept. It should be easy for you, right?"

"It’s often said, never offend a woman, and it’s an everlasting truth," Pannis sighed in resignation. "However, although you are a woman, you are an intelligent one. You will accept, or, to be precise, from the beginning you had no intention to expose me; otherwise, you wouldn’t have followed me here alone."

"Are you so certain?" Freya asked with a cunning smile. "Despite our teacher always saying that Kyle never makes mistakes, or disappoints his comrades, I wish Kyle were here. But what if you’re wrong this time?"

"No one is infallible, I’ve let down my comrades too. I used to believe otherwise, but it proved that it was just foolish self-confidence. If it weren’t for that, Nellie, she..." Pannis’s countenance sobered, but he soon regained his calm. "But this time, I’m certain. You very well know what the consequences will be if you expose me. My stay here benefits the three of them greatly, and you understand this point. Therefore, you won’t do anything foolish."

"Tsk, what a pity," Freya pouted in disappointment. "Well, you win this round, dear Mister Pannis."

"Thank you. Uh, a thought just occurred to me," Pannis re-don his hat, stroked his chin and said, "You noticed that I was acting strangely yesterday, and you connected it to the topic brought up by Kara. So, you guessed that I had something to do today and deliberately followed me. Then, at the right moment, you distracted me with your words. Hmm... can I interpret this as your concern for me? Do you think this concern comes from the mask, or the person behind the mask?"

Freya was momentarily struck by Pannis’s words but quickly recovered her smile. She spread her arms wide towards Pannis and said affectionately, "Of course, I care about you, dear Mr. Pannis. I haven’t yet obtained your love, and I won’t give up so easily."

"Ahem." Upon seeing a nearly two hundred kilos beauty opening her arms to him, Pannis couldn’t help but cough awkwardly and said, "Well, this is a resting place for the departed, let’s drop these subjects."

"Okay then." It goes without saying, Freya was indeed intelligent. Although she was curious about the past heroes’ invasion into the Alternate Space, she wisely refrained from asking questions and didn’t entangle herself further in Pannis’s identity. Instead, she walked up to Pannis and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, facing the gravestones, and gently asked, "Is this where your friends rest?"

"Yes, this is Adelaida’s grave," Pannis returned to his earlier solemn attitude, but after Freya’s intrusion, the heartache he felt was no longer akin to a knife’s twist, only a lingering sense of regret, sorrow, and deep remorse remained, "Adelaida was the little sister that Nellie and I cherished. We both loved having her by our side."

"Can you tell me more about it?" Freya gently asked, "Uncle Kara mentioned her, I’m curious."

"Let’s go, I’ll tell you on the way back." Pannis did not refuse. He adjusted the white poppy flowers and, running his hand over the smiling face on the tombstone, spoke tenderly, "Adeida, Brother Kyle has to leave now. Rest assured, I’ll visit you more often. I will slowly make up for the more than fifty years I owe you. I hope you won’t resent me, this heartless stupid older brother. I’ll be here with you all day on the next Early Spring Festival. Although I can’t bring you out to join in the fun, I hope by then, your smile can be as cheerful as it used to be."

"She will become cheerful," Freya dabbed at the corner of her eyes discreetly. "After Delia passed away, when Mavis went to mourn at her grave and promised to visit her frequently, Delia’s soul was overjoyed."

"That was just a ballet, not reality," Pannis gave a bitter smile. "We have enough of one Lina who can’t tell the difference, don’t you turn into that."

"No, art is based on reality," Freya shook her head, and said while looking at the sky, "You just don’t get it. The clouds in the sky seem unpredictable, but a breeze can set them in motion. Girls’ hearts are no different; a simple greeting or a hug can make them forget their sorrow and smile again. So, girls..."

"Vivian’s here." Pannis suddenly blurted out.

Freya instinctively recoiled, then glared at Pannis after a half-beat. "That’s really not fair," she remarked.

"Heh, let’s head back," said Pannis, the melancholy in his heart dissipating. He patted Freya’s shoulder. "Let’s take a carriage. On the way, I’ll tell you Adelaida’s story."

The two headed shoulder-to-shoulder towards the cemetery exit. A breeze billowed the hem of Pannis’s coat, as if expressing yearning and reluctance, yet also seemed to wish to sweep away the melancholy in his heart.

"Adelaida was the little sister of Nellie and me, ten years my junior. We met not long after Nellie and I became acquainted. Back then, we both held the Legendary Rank and had just come back from the Winged People Mountain Range to rest. The first time we met her, she was just twelve and crying quietly outside a craft shop. Nellie and I thought someone had bullied her and asked why. Her explanation was unexpectedly humorous. Adelaida told us a tragic made-up backstory about her being alone, and how the shop owner took her in out of pity. As for why she was crying, it was because she had mixed up the history of one item with a very similar one while explaining to a customer. The customer was displeased and left without making a purchase. Even though the shop owner didn’t blame her - these things happen - she felt like a failure for not getting such a small task right and thus, cried secretly. We could easily tell that her backstory was made up, but her earnest spirit couldn’t be faked. We both found the girl adorable, so every time we came back to rest, we would go out of our way to see her and chat."

"Did she run away from home?" asked Freya sympathetically. Her own circumstances were somewhat similar to Adelaida’s. "Why? Did she suffer at home? Or were the expectations of the elders too high and oppressive?"

"The exact opposite, actually. You’d never guess," Mr. Pannis shook his head, the corners of his mouth lifting as if once again seeing that adorable little girl. "She’s an early bloomer, a genius, similar to Itis whom we met yesterday, and had been established as the heir at a very young age. But she felt that growing up in such a comfortable environment, devoid of the hardships normal people faced, would blur her vision with the comfort of her life and vast wealth. She was worried that she would lead her family to decline. So, leaving behind a message and taking only a small amount of travel expenses, she snuck off to the City of Knowledge. She lived like an ordinary homeless child, striving to understand the hardships and bitterness of life."

"What a remarkable kid. Such worldly wisdom at such a young age!" Freya marveled. "But weren’t her family worried? She is, after all, the heir of an important family!"

"Her grandfather, the previous family head, already knew about it and had tacitly allowed it," Pannis replied. "Of course, he definitely still worried about her, so he dispatched a few family guards to protect her discreetly. Luckily, she didn’t encounter any danger in the City of Knowledge. After all, who would think that an unassuming homeless girl would be the heir of the Bru Family?"

"What happened then?" Freya asked inquisitively.

"As we got to know each other better, she realized that we had figured out her true identity, so she stopped concealing it. That’s how she spent two years in the City of Knowledge before she returned here." Pannis explained. "Although the frequency decreased, Nellie and I, both fond of the child, often went out of our way to visit her and bring her interesting things from all over. Oddly enough, the girl grew more and more attached to us."

"What’s strange about that? Didn’t you guess correctly earlier?" Freya asked, rolling her eyes. "Isn’t it the same with Catherine and the others?"

Pannis paused, then after a long silence, he smiled wryly and said, "I suppose you’re right."

"Keep going, what happened then?" Freya did not let up on Pannis, continuing to prod. Pannis shook his head helplessly, picking out a few interesting events to satisfy her curiosity. The carriage journey continued without stop, and by the time one story was over, they had arrived at the inn. Stepping down from the carriage and looking up, they saw Lina standing unapologetically at the entrance, ignoring passersby, her arms crossed and a menacing look on her face. "Oh, you dare to sneak out for a date, Pannis, you don’t get to run off! You dare to elope with Freya, stand still, let me beat you to death!"

"I’m not foolish enough to stand still and let you kill me," Pannis dashed into the inn without another word, disappearing from sight in a flash.

"I’m sorry, Lina." Freya suddenly embraced Lina, her voice touched. "Really, I’m very sorry."

"Huh? What’s going on?" Lina blinked in shock, staring at Freya. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Freya’s chubby face brimmed with a bright smile. "I want to apologize to you three and also say thank you."

"Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?" Lina scratched her head, muttering to herself as she watched Freya’s retreating figure. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)