The garden was quiet again. In the silence, Gwen stared at the Silver Queen for a long time, guessing her real intention at the moment. Although he felt that he had roughly guessed it, he still felt that he had missed something.
The Silver Queen also observed Gwen in silence. Her platinum eyes were as deep as water. No one knew what she saw from Gwen at this moment, and no one knew what she wanted to see. After more than ten seconds of silence, she said softly, "From the perspective of the Silver Queen, I don't need to confirm whether you are Uncle Gwen or not. I'm just dealing with the ruler of the new human empire in the north of the continent, so I just need to know what kind of ally you are."
Gwen looked into the Silver Queen's eyes and said, "But what you just said can be false."
"Everything that every ruler does can be false. In this regard, it makes no difference whether you are an 'extraterrestrial wanderer' or not," the Silver Queen said faintly. "The key is my judgment. If I'm wrong, then I should bear the consequences."
"… Don't worry, your judgment is correct. I'll be more reliable than you think," Gwen said, and then changed the topic. "But I still have a question. You just answered my question from the perspective of the Silver Queen, but as Bersetia, how do you judge your feelings? I'm sitting in front of you, but inside, I'm someone you don't know. To be fair, if it's someone else, I'm afraid it's not easy for them to accept."
Bersetia pursed her lips. It seemed that even for her, it was very difficult to answer this question. After a brief hesitation, she broke the silence. "So I'm very curious. How much of you are Gwen Cecil? What kind of method are you using to occupy … this body, and how do you view everything that this body possesses? "
Gwen picked up the completely cold black tea. The liquid in the cup glowed with a fine golden red luster under the sun. He looked at Bersetia and suddenly said, "Do you still like to secretly eat a dessert after dinner?"
A strange expression flashed across Bersetia's face for a moment, and then she said lightly, "I still have this habit, but I don't eat secretly anymore. With my identity as the Silver Empress, I made this a rule for the imperial court. "
"Ah, then you have finally realized your 'great ambition' of the past." Gwen was stunned for a moment before he suddenly laughed happily. "Back then, when you talked to me about your idea of ruling the empire in the future, one of the most important points was that 'after you really take power, you must legislate that there must be dessert after dinner, just like the human court.'"
"… How much else do you know?"
"It's almost all that Gwen Cecil knows." Gwen pointed to his head. "This is what I want to say. You said that I 'occupied' this body, but I'm afraid that's not entirely correct. Strictly speaking, it's his memory and personality that have merged into my consciousness. I have almost all of Gwen Cecil's memory, and it's clear as if I've experienced it myself. I know everything about you, and even clearly remember all the emotional impressions at that time. Sometimes I even wonder how much I've been affected by these memories and emotions, and whether I'm the complete me, or a brand-new individual reborn after fusion. "
He looked into Bersetia's eyes.
"Perhaps, from a certain perspective, Gawain Cecil has truly been resurrected. All of his memories and personality have returned to this world. It's just that … these memories and personality have now become part of a larger consciousness, and I am this larger consciousness."
"This sounds like a mathematical concept, a set and a subset." Bersetia pondered seriously. Her expression did not reveal her true emotions, but she finally raised the corner of her mouth and looked at Gwen with a half-smile. "Are you saying this to comfort me, or to gain my further trust?"
"This is your judgment, I'll be honest with you. But as you said, everything that every ruler does can be an illusion. Even a little more, everyone is the same." Gwen spread out his hands. "How you judge is your business."
Bersetia looked carefully into Gwen's eyes and suddenly changed the subject. "You just said that you not only have all of Gwen Cecil's memory, but also the emotional impressions at that time. So in your memory, how did 'you' feel about me back then?"
"Cute and lively." Gawain thought for a while and said frankly, "She also has a lot of wild and imaginative ideas."
"Is that so?" The smile on Bersetia's face grew wider. "If this is your answer, then I'm afraid I have to re-evaluate your frankness …"
Gwen sighed and began to count on his fingers. "Well, the main thing I was thinking at that time was why the brat didn't go back, when did she have enough fun, where did her parents go? Why was she not full yet? Why was she not tired? Why didn't she go back to sleep? Why didn't she harass Selena or the Augustus family? Where did she go? Why was she so quiet all of a sudden? Was she looking for trouble?"
After that, he sighed again and looked at Bersetia, who seemed to be a little sluggish. He spread his hands and said, "You asked me to say this. If Charlie or Roland could come out, they would definitely say it more harshly than me."
"I thought about it, but I didn't expect …" Bersetia blinked and suddenly laughed. Although she had been smiling most of the time, this time her smile seemed to be different from before. The smile spread between her delicate facial features as if reflecting the sunny afternoon sky. "Really … I can't remember how many years it has been since I heard such an evaluation."
"At that time, what I was most worried about was not your sudden mischief, but your sudden silence. Every time you were quiet, you were brewing a grand plan that would make at least a hundred people panic. I even wondered if the judgment of the Elven Court was wrong when choosing the successor. But surprisingly, you behaved very well in formal occasions such as the signing ceremony, even very well," Gwen said as he recalled. "Maybe you really had shown the talent of being the Silver Queen at that time? Anyway, I'm quite surprised to see what you look like now. "
"Being the Silver Queen and the Highest Priestess is very boring, especially for me at that time." Bersetia's face showed a look of reminiscence, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the gold teacup. "I had to behave in the court, so after coming into contact with the pioneers' camp, I was a little … too relaxed. At that time, you gave me a very novel impression. I had never seen a 'leader' as peaceful and casual as you. I could even describe it as interesting. Even Uncle Snow, who always had a straight face, would use ice sculpture tricks to 'create an atmosphere.' "
"That's normal. The pioneers and leaders back then weren't 'orthodox nobles' with strict rules. The real 'orthodox nobles' were all dead when the Imperial Capital exploded," Gawain said. "As for Snow … he wasn't a strict and rigid person to begin with. He just has facial paralysis."
At this time, Bersetia suddenly quieted down and stared into Gwen's eyes. This gaze quickly made Gwen a little uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"
"You are very natural when you speak in Uncle Gwen's tone. Is this a habit? Or is it the kind of … 'influence' you mentioned before? "
"It's hard to say," Gwen said truthfully. "This is indeed a habit of mine, but I don't know how much of it is the influence after inheriting those memories and personalities."
Bersetia was quiet for a few seconds again as if thinking carefully about something. Then she suddenly said, "I'm not a child anymore."
Gwen tried to understand the deeper meaning of this inexplicable sentence. He hesitated and said, "So, you won't be fooled by what I just said, is that what you mean?"
"No." Bersetia shook her head, her fingers leaving the teacup, allowing the liquid in the cup to ripple slightly. "I mean — children will be angry because the gift they receive is different from what they imagined. They will be conflicted because things are not as they imagined. They will be angry with themselves over the details and irreversible reality. But I'm not."
She looked up at Gwen and held out a hand. "You are not Uncle Gwen, but at least you are 'half Uncle Gwen'. Anyway, welcome back to this world. We still need you here."
Gwen was a little stunned. To be honest, he still felt that he could not keep up with the thought process of the Silver Queen. This queen who had ruled the Elven Empire for seven centuries was perhaps the most difficult mortal to understand and understand since he woke up in this world. Those gods that could not be discussed with common sense obviously could not be compared to her. But he still reached out and gently held her hand.
Then Bersetia sat back down, her eyes fell on the teacups in front of her and Gwen. "The tea is cold. Do you want a cup of hot tea? The black tea from the Kingdom of High Mountains is best served hot. "
"Of course, thank you."
Bersetia raised her finger and gently drew a rune in the air. A moment later, two high-grade elven maids quietly appeared in the garden. They served the guests and the host at the round table with hot tea. Bersetia pointed to one of the elves and said, "Uncle Gwen, do you remember her?"
Gwen frowned. He looked at the elf and finally extracted some vague outline from his memory. "… The little girl who was always with you and causing trouble everywhere? I remember her name was Elaine … "
"It's her, Elaine. Well, it seems that we did cause you a lot of trouble back then," Bersetia said helplessly. "Seven centuries have passed. It seems that we need to rebuild our impression of each other. What I want to say is that Elaine was very happy when she knew that you were resurrected. She has been looking forward to meeting you. "
"I'm glad to see you again." The high-grade maid smiled, but at the same time, there was a hint of shame. "Sorry, back then …"
"It's okay. I'm also glad to see you again." Gwen interrupted her. "It's always good to see some familiar faces. I just feel that it's interesting when I recall what happened back then."
The high-grade maid smiled again. Gwen picked up the teacup in front of him. He could finally calm down and taste the good tea from the Kingdom of Kaolin.
As time went by, the giant sun gradually approached the ridge on the west side of the town. There was a faint red color in the sunlight. As the edge of the clouds was illuminated by the setting sun, it was time for Gwen to leave.
He and Bersetia talked a lot about the past. In the second half of the afternoon tea, they did not talk about God, the church, or the grand plans for the future of the continent. It was not until Gwen got up and was about to walk out of the garden that Bersetia suddenly said, "Uncle Gwen, how confident are you about how many countries are willing to join the 'Theocratic Council' in your idea?"
Gwen stopped and looked back slightly. "I'm not sure. I just have to do it."
"Then you can be more confident now," the Silver Queen said behind him. "As I just said, the Silver Empire will support you — including 'this matter'."
"Aren't you worried that this will weaken the control of the Elven Court on the religious authority?" Although Gwen had guessed this after hearing about Druil's secret cult, he could not help but ask.
"My authority comes from the politics, economy, and army of the empire, not the decorative identity of the 'highest priestess'. It has been three thousand years since the fall of White Star," the Silver Queen said.
All along, the elves had lacked a complete understanding of the threat they were fighting against. Now that Gwen could bring a systematic plan, she obviously did not want to miss such an opportunity.
Gwen of course could also think of this, so he just nodded gently. "In that case, I'm relieved."
…
The sun was setting, and the 112 elves' stronghold was gradually shrouded in a layer of indifferent orange. Gwen came to the avenue outside the oak hall, and Amber's figure gradually emerged from the air beside him.
"Hey, hey, do you think she found me?" As soon as she jumped to the ground, Amber came up to him and whispered. "I feel like she was looking at me a few times in between …"
Gawain glanced at the nervous head of the intelligence agency. "Are you still not confident in your Shadow ability?"
"… Well, then I don't think she found me." Amber thought for a moment and shook her head. "I've tried. Other than a Legend like you, only a very few high-grade Transcendents with special abilities can find me when I've entered the critical state of shadow. That Silver Queen is definitely not a Legend. She's at most a high-grade."
"You sound like a high-grade is nothing," Gwen could not help but say. "As a leader with limited energy, it's already very scary to have the strength of a high-grade, okay? Do you think every king and emperor in this world is a Legend? "
"… That's true." Amber thought for a moment and nodded. Then she seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up. "Ah, yes! A legend like you should be the only one among a bunch of national leaders. You don't even need to arrange five hundred white knights outside the window when you have a meeting. You can just carry an eggplant in your arms and sweep them all away … "
Gwen: "???"
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