Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1428 - 214 Trust

"One might say she’s not wrong," Finche corrected, "These are all based on the thoughts Lady Nellie personally shared with me on the day I revived. Her plans for the Undead were pieced together from these ideas, bit by bit. Maybe for you, Kyle, contemplating a plan that can span decades is not difficult, but for Lady Nellie, it might require several times your effort to achieve such a result."

"No, a plan that operates for decades is fundamentally impossible for me, because I simply would not do it," Pannis sighed and shook his head, "My friend, it appears you still don’t quite understand me, or you wouldn’t think that. The longer a plan lasts, and the more complex it becomes, the lower the chance of success. Any unforeseen event can completely ruin a seemingly perfect long-term strategy. True, many factors that affect a plan can be anticipated and prepared for ahead of time, but why do we call them unforeseen events? It’s because they are unpredictable, and therefore there’s no way to prepare for them in advance. Of course, a massive and complex plan will naturally include measures to minimize the impact of contingencies, but even so, often a single mishap requires a complete adjustment of the plan, or even leads to its failure. So I would never engage in such plans that often only exist in theory; it’s simply a waste of effort. Finche, you never detailed Nellie’s measures against the Undead or her initial plans, just a rough mention, I suspect not because you don’t want to, but perhaps because too many external variables have frequently arisen, making the plans no longer viable, hence discussing them is pointless, right?"

"He really said so," Finche and Luscia were not surprised by Pannis’s words, but instead exchanged glances and nodded at each other. With an air of inevitability, Luscia said, "It seems their hearts really do resonate with each other."

"Hmm, by what you’ve implied, Nellie must have anticipated I would take such a stance," Pannis was also unsurprised, well aware that given Nellie’s understanding of him, her guess was all too normal. It would have been abnormal for her not to guess. Thus, he simply propped his chin and stared at Finche, asking softly, "So then, what else did she say?"

"Nellie said you’d certainly mock her plans, but I must admit, you’re not wrong. A plan that’s too long-term is indeed subject to too many influences," Luscia’s voice carried a certain slyness, much like an onlooker enjoying the scene, as she leisurely added, "However, Nellie also said that only applies to others. For her, such a judgment doesn’t hold. Even if her plans are heavily affected, they will ultimately succeed. Because when her plan can’t proceed, or veers off its original trajectory, there will be someone who will rush to her side in haste, to adjust her plans, to clean up the aftermath, to solve all problems, and ensure the plan moves forward smoothly, ensuring she is not disappointed. Therefore, as long as this person is present, she needn’t worry at all, but can confidently hand over the issues beyond her control for him to deal with."

Luscia’s words brought the prayer hall to a dead silence. No one spoke, no one moved, at least not the living beings; every creature stared down at the marble floor, silent. Pannis, just as the girls, was affected by Nellie’s words as conveyed by Luscia. Nellie’s stance might have seemed irresponsible, but behind this apparent irresponsibility was a wave of other emotions. The girls touched their hearts and asked themselves. True, they loved Pannis too, but could they reach the extent Nellie had? They indeed trusted Pannis, but could they truly do so without reservation? To trust him wholeheartedly, to entrust him with things even more important than their own lives without holding back, to believe, without a shred of doubt, that he would appear at her side when she needed him, to help her with everything... could they really do all that?

This question was one the girls could not answer, not even sure themselves if they could reach that degree. So the girls just stared blankly at the ground, vainly speculating about if it were them. Deep inside, they faintly understood they could trust Pannis like themselves, could hand their lives and everything over to him, but such trust, without the depth of time, was likely unachievable. It was not just unachievable, but even beyond imagination, to trust someone to that extent.

Pannis could imagine it, but he too was silent. Perhaps for Luscia and Finche, this was teasing—a well-intentioned jest at the absolute rapport between the two. That’s why Luscia’s words could carry a breezy laugh. Perhaps for the girls, it was a spur to recognize the gap between themselves and Nellie, to examine more clearly their own hearts. But for Pannis alone, it was a tortuous ordeal. Each word Luscia spoke was like a knife deeply plunging into his heart. And it was only Catherine who vaguely perceived the pain within Pannis and could offer no comfort, only to bury her worry deep inside.

"Despite all that has happened, she still trusts me so much. Therefore, she must be a fool." Although bleeding inside, Pannis’s voice sounded remarkably calm, "I am burdened with sins. Has she forgotten? Hah, someone like me, a sinner—do I truly still deserve such trust from her?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"A sinner?" Luscia and Finche clearly didn’t know Pannis’s past, hence asked with some surprise, "Why would you say that? Nellie has never said anything like that about you being a sinner."

"No, never mind, forget what I said," Pannis sighed, his shoulders drooping as if suddenly bereft of all strength, and he said quietly, "Because of what she said, you announced to the Undead that the King of the Undead wants to meet me. It seems she has encountered trouble, right? Well, now I’ve arrived as she predicted, so tell me, what’s the situation now? You’re looking for me—what do you need me to do?"