Chapter Eight: The Serf’s Daughter

He was just an ordinary one in fourteen hundred million, possessing a title that sounded awe-inspiring but, in reality, meant nothing in this new world—a social outcast with nothing to his name.

His homeland did not even exist on this continent, nor among the stars that shone above.

Perhaps he could fool the villagers of Guolan, who had never left their homes, but before a well-traveled lord like Viscount Hughes, it would be easy for his facade to be exposed.

If that happened, it would only bring trouble upon Anlia and the others, as they would face the wrath of the angry lord.

With this thought, Xia Mingyu made up his mind.

“Anlia, I’m tired,” he said calmly, ignoring the pleading expression on the blonde girl’s face and returning straight to his room.

If something cannot be done, it should never be promised from the start; otherwise, it only misleads those who are given the promise and leads matters to an outcome worse than failure.

...

At the edge of the village, inside a wooden hut built of logs and thatch.

“Is that so? His Highness refused!” Upon hearing his daughter’s words, Robert, the village chief, seemed to lose all strength and collapsed weakly to the ground.

“Father! Father!” Anlia panicked as she helped him onto a chair and quickly brought him a bowl of clear water.

“Are you alright?” The girl looked worriedly at her adoptive father, whose face remained pale even after drinking the water, her blue eyes shimmering faintly with tears.

“I’m fine. It’s an old ailment—stress brings on headaches. Rest a moment, and I’ll be fine,” Robert said with a long exhale, forcing a smile to soothe her.

But his weak voice and bloodshot eyes betrayed the fact that he was only holding on.

Anlia was silent. She did not expose her adoptive father’s lie, but her guilt deepened.

Her adoptive father had been healthy at first; otherwise, he would not have become village chief.

When she was six, she had climbed to the highest point in the orchard out of playfulness. Unable to come down, she cried desperately, and her adoptive father, trying to rescue her, accidentally fell and hurt his head. Since then, his health had steadily declined, and whenever the weather was bad, his headaches would become unbearable.

“I’m sorry, Father. If it weren’t for me burdening you, you would be much happier now!” Unable to bear the torment within, Anlia knelt to the ground, her eyes and nose reddening as warm tears wetted her cheeks, her voice trembling with sobs.

...

“Get up, my daughter. You have never been a burden to me; you are a blessing from the heavens,” Robert said gently.

“You owe me nothing. On the contrary, I should thank you, for it is because of the beautiful memories you have given me—so vivid they seem like yesterday—that my life is complete.”

He bent down and gently stroked the girl’s silky golden hair, his weathered face filled with love.

“But... but I failed your expectations. I couldn’t move His Highness,” Anlia lifted her tear-filled face, her beautiful blue eyes brimming with self-reproach.

“It was such a trivial matter to him, yet still he...”

“That’s enough, Anlia!” The once gentle adoptive father suddenly spoke sternly, startling the girl.

“We cannot resent others simply because they did not extend their hand,” he said.

“After all, others owe us nothing.”

“Even if we offer help, it is because of our kindness, not to seek repayment.”

“Everything is judged by the gods,” Robert said gravely.

He did not wish for his daughter to be narrow-minded. As a powerless serf, kindness was the greatest inheritance he could leave her.

“I will remember your teachings, Father,” Anlia wiped her tears and her delicate face, like a budding flower, grew resolute.

“But no matter what, by any means necessary, I will never stand idly by and watch everyone become slaves, humiliated and oppressed at will.”

“You are right. We should not force His Highness to help us, so... I will offer him a gift he cannot refuse.”

Anlia bit her lip, determination flickering in her eyes.

Yet her hands involuntarily folded in front of her, fingers nervously twisting the hem of her dress, betraying her inner turmoil and unease.

A father knows his child best. Seeing this, Robert immediately guessed what his daughter, more beautiful than any noble lady, intended.

“No... no, you can’t—”

“Father, this is my choice!” she insisted.

...

Robert tried to stop her but saw Anlia shake her head firmly.

He opened his mouth, wanting to forbid her like a proper father, but when he thought of the trusting faces looking to him, his lips moved, but no words came out.

In the end, Robert could only sigh deeply, a sigh heavy with all his helplessness.

“My daughter, I’m sorry your father is but a humble serf,” he said, bowing his head in guilt.

“But I am honored to be the daughter of a serf,” Anlia replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Robert trembled. Fighting back tears threatening to spill, he turned and went back into his room.

As a father, it would be foolish to cry before his child.

After a moment, now composed, he came out holding an old but impeccably clean wooden box and handed it to Anlia.

“Open it,” Robert said solemnly.

Curious, the girl gently opened the box to find a neatly folded blue dress inside.

Her expression immediately turned to surprise.

“Remember it? When you were thirteen, a traveling merchant came to the village. Among his wares, you immediately took a liking to this dress. You cried and fussed, even refusing to eat, wanting me to buy it,” Robert said softly.

“You said that if you lost it, your whole life would be without dreams. You called it your one and only act of willfulness, and that year’s harvest was abundant, so I was able to buy it for you.”

“But Father, didn’t you firmly refuse me at the time? Even when I refused to eat until I fainted?” The girl looked at her adoptive father with confusion.

“I refused because I was just a serf, and as a child, you would want many things in the future, but I was powerless. So I rejected your whim.”

“But I kept this because, though I am only a serf, I still love you.”

Robert smiled kindly, the wrinkles on his face seeming to soften with the warmth of his smile.

Watching this, Anlia’s eyes grew misty.

“I had planned to save it to surprise you on your wedding day, but now, it is clear you need it more than ever.”

“My daughter, even in the ugliest moments of life, you must keep your humility and kindness—and... a bit of your beauty.”

“Go now, and like the poems sung by the bards, captivate that noble prince!”

Robert spoke with a casual air, but tears streamed down his face endlessly.