The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 78: Seventy-seven

The Duke’s face brightened up, the look on his face was evident, the mood around him shifting into something light and flowery, making the people around him look at him, both shocked and bewildered at the unexpected display of emotion.

"Anyways, I called all of you here to talk about what will happen from now on, but first.." Jannah trailed off and turned her head to the crowned princess and the third prince.

"What’s your purpose here, Princess Huenazia?" Jannah went straight to the point, a frown creeping into her face.

As far as Jannah could remember, Princess Huenazia didn’t meet her until her death in her past life. She has heard of the Princess’s escapades throughout the continent, looking for a cure to stop the outbreak, to look for someone that would help her create a cure.

Princess Huenazia was powerful before the outbreak and during it, she led many people and took them under her protection, giving her the advantage of an easy journey from community to another community.

At the time, Jannah had heard of the rumors about a certain plant stopping the infection from spreading by a mere inhalation or consumption of a small amount.

The Echinacea she had in her past life was given to her by a former dancer whom she had helped escape his captors.

"Consider it as a token of gratitude." Was what the male dancer said to her before he left the campsite, never to be seen again.

She doesn’t know if Princess Huenazia managed to create a cure from the powdered Echinacea from her past life, but if she did, then the fate of the people in that life would be much more peaceful compared to their life before the creation of the cure.

The Princess Huenazia in front of her is not the same Princess Huenazia from her past life.

The Countess studied the princess, searching for any signs of suspicion. She tried to read the princess’s expression, searching for any hint of dishonesty or hidden intentions.

However, looking closely, Jannah noticed that the princess looked rather weary and tired, as if she hadn’t eaten or slept for the past few days. She couldn’t quite decide if Princess Huenazia looked trustworthy or not, her features and demeanor not giving much away.

Although, one thing is for sure, the Princess in front of her is reluctant and guarded, much worse than what she looked like a couple days ago.

Jannah sighed and watched as the Princess shuffled in her feet, her eyes looking downwards.

She didn’t speak nor look at Jannah, opting to keep her gaze on the wooden floorboards, a look of nervousness crossing her eyes for a moment.

"Countess?" Hanzo called out.

Jannah teared her gaze away from the princess and looked at the third prince.

"If you’ll allow me, I can explain why we’re here." He pursed his lips by the end of his sentence, glancing at his sister who still has her gaze on the floor.

Seeing that his sister couldn’t and wouldn’t talk, Hanzo stepped forward, sighing deeply before he spoke, "She wasn’t exactly as welcoming as I thought when I started heading north so I forced her."

That’s not what Jannah expected.

She shot the princess a look, gauging any reaction from her, but she didn’t show anything, making Jannah sigh.

"Forced her?" She looked back to the prince and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I forced her." Hanzo answered with blatant honesty, "She refused to go so I had no choice."

"I see.." Jannah nodded her head in understanding, "Then, why did you only take the princess? What happened to the other princesses and princes?"

Jannah already knows the answer to her question. In her past life, only the first princess and the third prince were the only ones who survived.

They lead their people by themselves, building one of the most secured and toughest communities, only for the third prince to be swept by a zombie horde two years in the apocalypse.

The news of the third prince’s passing was quick to spread from community to community, making the Princess Huenazia’s and Prince Hanzo’s base, Staria, to be a target for raids.

Of course, Princess Huenazia came out as the victor and strengthened her forces after the death of her little brother. In the end, only Princess Huenazia was left in the royal family.

Asking the question serves two purposes.

One, to know the reason why they’re in Philipia.

Two, to know if things will be the same as her past life— the royal siblings staying for a while to gather themselves then head out to start building their own base, Staria.

Though, it seems like things will be different this time around as well.

"I saw something that led me here." Hanzo stated, his face twisting into a wary expression, "Are you familiar with a thing called system?"

The Countess paused, her eyes widening with surprise as the third prince asked the question. How would he know about the system? Does he have it, too? Did he have a mission to come to her?

Her mind raced with questions, her mind grappling with the implications of the prince’s words, but amidst the surprise and confusion, there was also a feeling of relief as she realized she’s not alone in this kind of experience.

The Countess looked at the prince, her eyes wide with wonder as she tried to fit this new information into her mind, to understand what was happening.

"I’m familiar with it." Jannah decided to come clean to the third prince, making Jeriel stand up from the chair.

Sis. Jeriel hissed, sounding worried and anxious, she walked towards Jannah, grabbing her big sister’s arm and pulling her back. What if we can’t trust him?

Jannah didn’t look away from the prince, their eyes still locked in a staring contest, but she assured her little sister.

I only said that I’m familiar with it. She said through the link, her mind still can’t wrap around the fact that there’s someone else who has a system.

Although, she was quite confused by Jeriel’s reaction.

Shouldn’t Jeriel be glad that Prince Hanzo has the system, too? Why is she on guard? Why is she glaring at him? Jannah thought that Jeriel liked him— the system said so! The status window of her little sister showed that she likes him.

Is she misunderstanding something? Jannah could only wonder and she didn’t have enough time to dwell on it because the third prince started speaking.

"It appeared before me and told me that I must head north." Hanzo pursed his lips and his eyebrows furrowed lightly, "I knew that it was called system because it called that itself.. Then, it disappeared after that."

Silence filled the room.

No one dared to break it because they’re not sure what’s going on between the Countess and Prince Hanzo. Especially the topic— system? What did the princess mean about it telling him to go north?

In that room, only Jeriel knows about the system, but except for the crown princess and the third prince, everyone knows that she has abilities. They don’t know where it came from or how she obtained it, but they know, and they don’t mind.

The air is thick with tension, Jannah could feel it, but she doesn’t know how to deal with the third prince’s reason.

"So it appeared to tell you to head north, but didn’t say anything else?" Jannah finally spoke up after a long pause, making the people around her breath out a sigh of relief.

If it comes down to it, if Jannah told them that the princess and the prince aren’t accepted in the town then they wouldn’t hesitate to send them off.

Was it bad? Was it against the policy and laws of the kingdom? Was it disrespectful to kick out royals?

Frankly, they don’t care. Once the Countess has made the final call then they will act upon it.

To their relief though, Prince Hanzo nodded his head which made Jannah smile— a genuine smile. She looked pleased which is another plus point to their relief.

"It brought you to Philipia." Jannah said with a satisfied hum, "It only means that the flow of fate changed."

And you’ll be alive by the time I find a cure. She told herself, her eyes brimming with determination as she stared at the third prince.

"Pardon?" Prince Hanzo blinked, taken aback by the Countess’s friendliness.

He didn’t expect her to be this willing and accepting of his reasoning, he prepared himself to be called a fool, a liar, a trickster— all because the system nonsense doesn’t make sense.

Oh, well.. All is well. Prince Hanzo thought to himself, feeling the pressure disappear from his back.

Now, why is Jannah so accepting of the royal siblings? For Jeriel, of course.

She knows for a fact that Jeriel likes the third prince. Platonically or romantically— it doesn’t matter. The system wouldn’t mention the third prince’s name in her little sister’s status if he wasn’t someone important.

Prince Hanzo died because of a horde in her first life which means.. Jannah has to watch out for that specific horde. Staria was built in east, near Duke Eulicies’s dukedom.

Since Duke Eulicies joined her in Monlen in her past life, the royal siblings decided to build their base in his land.

Jannah let out a sigh through her nose and spoke, the previous smile and playfulness in her features nowhere to be seen.

"Now that I know the Mercuria siblings means no harm. Let’s proceed with the meeting."