Chapter 264

Marry the Empress?

Glancing at the white-haired girl on the throne, Murphy frowned.

In the past, he might have thought, "Is there such a good thing?"

But at this moment, he felt a bit troublesome.

Beautiful girls are everywhere, and the one in front of him, although beautiful, is simply thorny.

She bears the fate of tens of thousands of wizards in Arkaim, and her position is naturally different from Murphy's.

What she wants is the safety of Arkaim, and what Murphy wants is simply to use Arkaim as his own shield and spear. Even after the alliance, there are many common goals, but the difference in fundamental positions will sooner or later lead to differences.

If there were no other relationship, Murphy would do what he should do without any scruples. But if they became husband and wife or lovers, dealing with such differences would inevitably have many constraints and compromises, making things much more troublesome.

On the other side, Sophia was also surprised by Lady Yaga's proposal.

She looked at Lady Yaga, not quite understanding what the old lady meant for a while.

The latter gave her a "don't be impatient" look. Her Majesty the Empress swallowed her questioning words and looked at Murphy again.

Hmm? Why is this guy frowning?

Is marrying me so unacceptable?

"Her Majesty the Empress is still young," Murphy said. "This is probably not quite appropriate."

"Her Majesty will be an adult soon. You can set up the marriage contract first, and it's fine to marry after some time," Lady Yaga said.

Murphy thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Sophia. "What does Her Majesty think herself?"

Sophia was looking at him. Now that their eyes met, her expression panicked.

Murphy is indeed a very charming person and also very attractive to her, but... she feels she can't control the other party at all.

The original confidence that "as long as I exert my charm, I can take him down" had already been exhausted in several contacts. She felt that no matter what, the other party could grasp the initiative better than herself.

What's more, he already looked disgusted, should she still stick to him?

Sophia straightened her expression. "Just as Mr. Darkholm said, I am still young and know nothing about marriage. But as the Empress, I am tied to the fate of countless wizards in Arkaim. Making such a big decision rashly is too childish."

She said, looking at Lady Yaga. "I don't want to talk about marriage at this time."

Murphy nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. The career hasn't been finished yet, and suddenly he's given a wife. The question of which one to focus on in the future will inevitably distract him. This is the best.

Lady Yaga sighed. "If so, I'm afraid we can't take such risks for outsiders."

Murphy thought for a moment and said: "How about this, how about I become the Empress's sworn brother?"

Murphy left. When he walked out of the Spring Palace, he was already Empress Sophia's sworn brother and "Protector Shaman."

The Empress agreed to his request and agreed to establish diplomatic relations with the British Ministry of Magic. Murphy's purpose for this trip had all been achieved.

After Murphy left the hall, Sophia looked at Lady Yaga, a little confused. "Just now, why did you insist on making that request?"

The old woman walked slowly to the Empress. "Your Majesty, how old do you think I am?"

Sophia was stunned. Lady Yaga had been like this when she was just born, and she had also heard Ivan say that when Ivan was young, Lady Yaga was already like this.

How old she was, not many people really knew.

"When I was born, this century hadn't started yet. Now, it's almost over."

The old woman said, "I have served several generations in this palace. They trust me very much because when I was young, I was Nicholas II's bodyguard, and your great-grandmother was saved by me."

Sophia nodded. She knew about this.

Lady Yaga was no different from her own grandmother in her eyes, and because of this, she was qualified to make that proposal just now.

"But, I am old after all," Lady Yaga said. "Fighting with Felipe Carlos before, I already felt powerless, and I also took a curse from him before he died. Perhaps, I can only accompany you for a year or two at most before I have to return to the side of the ancestors."

"You..."

Lady Yaga shook her head, interrupting Sophia's comforting words. "I know my own situation. You are still too young. There will always be people who want to test your authority. After I leave, you will lack a strong person by your side who can suppress the thoughts of those people."

"Murphy Darkholm is a good candidate."

"He is a foreigner after all, it is difficult to usurp power. His ambition needs you to help him achieve it, and his ability is enough to govern Arkaim for you."

"Moreover, you also like him quite a bit, don't you?"

"But, aren't you worried that he will bring Arkaim into danger? Even Azir said he is a terrifying person," the Empress said.

"Azir... what a pity," Lady Yaga shook her head. "Worrying is useless. From the moment you started contacting him, there was no turning back. No, perhaps earlier, from the moment he set his sights on Su, he was destined to have an impact on Arkaim."

"He said the tide is coming, but in fact, he is the one who stirred up the wind and waves. Such a person, unless we kill him, otherwise, he will always stir up blood and rain."

"It's good that you don't want to marry him. You don't have to be completely locked with him. In case he fails, we still have a chance to escape."

Sophia frowned. She hadn't thought of this layer yet.

It seems that as an Empress, she still has many things to learn.

The news that Grand Duke Ivan rebelled and was killed by his son for righteousness spread throughout Arkaim the next day. Some people believed it, some didn't. But regardless, Grand Duke Ivan was dead. His second son, George, inherited the title, but because of the crime, he was demoted from Duke to Earl.

It was said that the Great Shaman Felipe left the ancestral mausoleum and went to travel and practice around the world, but not many ordinary wizards cared about this.

Besides this, the thing that Arkaim wizards talked about most was the "Protector Shaman." It was said that he was a wizard from the British magical world who came to propose to the Empress. It was he who discovered signs of Grand Duke Ivan's rebellion at the banquet and assisted Earl George in killing Ivan.

To commend his achievements, the Empress became his sworn sister and bestowed the title of "Protector Shaman," with a status equal to a Duke.

There were also rumors that the Empress had already selected this Protector Shaman as her husband to rule the Holy City with her, but because of busy state affairs and the Empress being still young, they were not getting married yet.

Both the sworn brotherhood and the title bestowal had a set of rituals, so Murphy had to stay in Arkaim for a period of time.

He hadn't been idle these days. First, he rescued the werewolf mercenaries and wizards who had been captured in Ivan's mansion and sent them back to the laboratory to recover, then he sent more than a dozen wizards to the Su Muggle side—anyway, with the Empress's consent, he didn't need to be sneaky anymore. The plan for Su was ready to be pushed forward with great vigor.

By the time the various rituals were completed, it was already June, and Murphy was ready to return to Hogwarts.

The Sorcerer's Stone plan he had been planning for a whole year was coming to an end, and he had to go back to keep an eye on it.

Before leaving, Murphy gave Lady Yaga a bottle of anti-aging potion, but the latter didn't want it, which made Murphy very regretful.

"Aging and death are natural processes," Lady Yaga said. She seemed to see through this. "Moreover, after I die, I will return to the side of the ancestors and will continue to guard this place in another world. That is a broader and longer journey than the living, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time."

Similar words seemed to have been said by Dumbledore in the original work.

But Murphy couldn't understand this.

Unlike these old people who had lived for hundreds of years, he hadn't lived enough. He wanted to continue living, keep living, preferably until the end of time.

(End of chapter)