svetikya Chapter 242 Brando's Damaged Reputation
Chapter 242 Brando's Damaged Reputation
Chapter 242 Brando's Damaged Reputation
Seeing the astonished look on Cattleya's face, Bernadette's lips curled into a smile, and she asked softly, "What? You don't believe me?"
"I—I—" Gadriya's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but the words were swallowed back down her throat.
She would never believe that Brando was a heartless scumbag who toyed with other people's feelings and then abandoned them.
Although the two spent very little time together, after years of sailing the seas, she believed she had a basic eye for people.
Brando was completely different from those glib, frivolous playboys at sea. He respected women, had no bad habits, and his words and actions exuded a just-right distance and politeness.
Although he had a close relationship with "Iceberg Admiral" Edwina, Cattleya could sense that he didn't seem like someone with a rich emotional history. No, compared to other men who frequented the seas, he was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.
The most direct evidence is that when he fell into a coma due to the "Hidden Sage's" ramblings and was powerless to resist, the sage did not take the opportunity to do anything to him.
Of course, there's another frustrating possibility: that she simply lacks any feminine charm in Brando's eyes, which is why he has no interest in her whatsoever. But this thought was quickly suppressed by Cattleya. She had basic confidence in her knowledge, abilities, and appearance. Besides, the fact that Brando could get along well with a woman as knowledgeable as Edwina showed that he at least appreciated intelligent women.
But if that's the case, why would the Queen say that? Is it a simple misunderstanding, or is there something else going on?
"Your Majesty," she hesitated for a moment before defending Lorne, "Brando—he's not that kind of person."
"Oh?" Bernadette was not surprised at all; instead, she chuckled. "So, you do know him."
"I—" Cattleya was speechless for a moment. "You seem to care a lot about that Brando?" Bernadette narrowed her eyes and asked again.
"I--"
Caldelia instinctively lowered her head, her smooth black hair falling down and obscuring most of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
Bernadette was seeing her usually composed and reserved adopted daughter display such a shy demeanor for the first time, and she found it quite novel. She paused for a moment, then sighed softly to herself, and said in a gentler tone:
"What I said wasn't entirely false. Tracy does indeed have a deep entanglement with that Brando. At the very least, Tracy has deep feelings for Brando; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone so far as to offer a 10,000-pound bounty."
"But, this—Your Majesty, do you know something?" Cattleya suddenly raised her head, looking at Bernadette with eager eyes.
"Yes." Bernadette nodded and recounted everything she had heard from the pirate named Alger, whom she had rescued from the "Black Death."
This includes Tracy's breakdown when she saw Brando's "corpse," and her subsequent overwhelming rage.
Bernadette also mentioned Alger's personal speculation.
At least in Alger's view, there was definitely an affair between Tracy and Brando. Considering Brando's eventual "escape," Alger is more inclined to believe that Brando was a clever emotional manipulator. He toyed with Tracy's feelings, gained her trust, and then chose to betray and run away at some point, which triggered the series of events that followed—
"impossible-"
"This is slander! Absolutely slander!" Cattleya denied without hesitation, her tone even carrying a hint of anger she herself was unaware of. "This is all slander by that Alger. Brando is definitely not that kind of person."
"Heh—." Bernadette let out a soft, ambiguous laugh, without immediately refuting.
"—"
Seeing this, Cattleya immediately realized that her reaction had been a bit excessive. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, but the heat on her face just wouldn't go down.
Having built up the atmosphere, Bernadette seized the opportunity and said, "It seems quite a bit has happened between you and that Brando. Could you tell me about it?"
"I—" Cattleya knew that she could no longer hide anything from the Queen. She hesitated for a moment, then simply recounted how she met Brando.
"I see—" Bernadette nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. "In that case, Brando is indeed a rather interesting person."
"Alger's words are indeed biased." At this moment, Bernadette's interest in the "Brando" she had never met before grew even stronger.
A person who is intricately connected to her father Russell's diary, a young man who can navigate between several major powers at Sequence 6 and has experienced so much on the high seas, inevitably made her even more curious.
"This matter cannot be left like this! If such a fallacy gets out—" Cattleya subconsciously clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white from the force.
First of all, Brando was her savior, and she didn't want his reputation to be damaged because of it.
Secondly, there is a deeper reason that she herself is unwilling to delve into—"Iceberg Admiral" Edwina, "Disease Admiral" Tracy, and now herself—Brando has actually become entangled with three female pirate generals.
Some things may not have a result for the time being, but at least for now, she doesn't want Brando to be labeled as "Tracy." Otherwise, whenever people talk about Brando, they will associate him with Tracy, as if he were just one of Tracy's "possessions" or "fugitives."
This is something Cattleya cannot allow.
"Not necessarily, there might be another possibility," Bernadette analyzed. "If Brando is really as you say, perhaps it was Lieutenant General Tracy who developed feelings for him unilaterally, but Brando was unwilling, so he chose to run away, which led to the series of events that followed."
"Is this really true?" Cattleya pushed up her glasses, thinking that things couldn't be that dramatic.
Moreover, she had met Tracy, and although she didn't want to admit it, she was indeed inferior to her in terms of pure feminine charm. What reason would Brando have to reject her?
"Anything is possible for a 'witch'," Bernadette stated calmly, presenting a fact.
Her gaze fell on the letter on the table, and she asked, "Is this a letter from Brando?"
"Um."
"May I take a look at it?"
After hesitating for a moment, Cattleya nodded. In the field of occultism, the Queen was far more professional than she was; perhaps letting her take a look would uncover more clues.
Bernadette picked up the letter and began to read it carefully.
"Hmm—this is indeed the Time Worm," she murmured to herself, looking at the description on the letter, her expression turning serious. "As for the Full Moon's Talk, it should be related to the Abrahamic family. My father—he once told me some things about those ancient families."
Soon, her attention was drawn to the address on the letter.
"Monkey Brando is in Backlund, right?"
Before Cattleya could answer, Bernadette continued, "The Dawn of Elements has sent word that there will be a memorial exhibition about Roselle in Backlund soon."
She looked up, a hint of nostalgia flashing in her eyes.
"This is a good opportunity for me to visit Backlund."