News of the confrontation between the two major families spread throughout the entire royal capital.
Many people were completely confused about this incident.
What exactly had happened to make the atmosphere between the two great families so tense?
It looked as if a major fight was about to break out.
What surprised people the most was, this time, it seemed that even the Emperor himself didn't know which side he should stand on.
So who was right, and who was wrong?
Lady Cassandra stood at the entrance of the estate, watching the family's specially made carriage rush toward her, falling into silence.
The Lesser family's carriage was enhanced with special magic.
Even traveling a thousand miles in a day was not a problem.
She was surrounded by layers of guards, the grand formation resembling a small army, its momentum imposing.
She was about to return to the main family estate, where she would have her final negotiation with Victor.
Just as Lady Cassandra was preparing to enter the carriage, the female guard beside her seemed to sense something.
"Please wait a moment, my lady."
Cassandra coldly turned her head and glanced at Elsa.
Lowering her head, the female guard said, "There is someone who wishes to see you."
"..."
Within the encirclement of the guards, a path slowly opened up.
Aurellian, dressed in luxurious clothes inlaid with gemstones, slowly walked toward Lady Cassandra, wearing an exceptionally gentle smile on her face.
She also had guards following her, but compared to Cassandra's, they looked extremely thin.
Because she had brought only one person.
And even that single guard, she seemed unwilling to bring along.
Aurellian turned her head and said to the guard behind her, "Celia, you can go back."
Celia stood nearby, hesitating as she spoke, "But, Your Highness…"
"What place could be safer than staying by my aunt's side?"
Celia gripped the hilt of her sword and looked at the surrounding guards, feeling conflicted.
After a short while, she nodded in agreement.
"I understand, Your Highness."
After Celia slowly left, Cassandra turned around and looked at Aurellian with an air of noble dignity.
"Aunt Cassandra, long time no see."
Cassandra looked at Aurellian. There was no smile at the corner of her mouth, her expression completely calm.
"Aurellian."
"It's been several years since we last met, hasn't it?"
Cassandra still remembered that the last time she saw this child, she seemed not even ten years old.
In the blink of an eye, she had already grown so much.
"You didn't come to see me at a time like this just to reminisce, did you?"
Aurellian smiled. A confident aura surrounded her as she met Lady Cassandra's gaze head-on.
"Of course not."
Cassandra looked calmly at Aurellian, her hands resting in front of her skirt, also staring into the other's eyes.
Compared to the past, the Aurellian before her now no longer seemed as timid as she once was.
Aurellian spoke in an even tone, "Aunt Cassandra, I'm here to persuade you."
"Don't become enemies with my teacher."
At these words, the warriors around them immediately turned cold, the weapons in their hands letting out faint sounds.
Cassandra also raised her head and looked at Aurellian with cold pride.
"Why would you say that? Don't forget, you are a member of the royal family."
Aurellian sighed and said, "My teacher's strength is beyond what you can imagine."
"In any case, please listen to my advice."
Aurellian's expression was incomparably serious, "Try to focus on negotiation, and agree to my teacher's demands as much as possible."
"A military standoff will only accelerate the Lesser family's destruction."
Cassandra seemed about to say something, but before she could open her mouth, Aurellian spoke first.
"Please think of the Northern Border, think of those tens of thousands of barbarians."
"Think of the final fate of the Delin family."
Cassandra narrowed her eyes and replied calmly as well, "Is this your father's request, or your own?"
Aurellian shook her head and let out a helpless chuckle.
"Actually, I'd rather stand on my teacher's side, but you are my family."
"I'm just here to remind you. If you still want to fight my teacher, then…"
"Please allow me to go south with you."
Hearing this request, Cassandra narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and finally showed a hint of seriousness.
'That old Emperor… he really is willing to go that far.'
"I believe my teacher wouldn't harm me, and besides…"
At this point, a gentle smile appeared on Aurellian's face.
"Aunt Cassandra, Father has always told me. We are family."
"..."
Cassandra fell silent for a while, then spoke as if she were compromising.
"If he's willing to return Jace to me…" The low murmur that followed was perhaps Cassandra speaking to herself, or perhaps it was simply silence.
She turned around, no longer facing Aurellian.
But that voice, now a little gentler, rang out softly, "Get in the carriage, Aurellian… no."
"My niece."
———
"Why did you have to provoke Lady Cassandra?" Inside the study, Liya couldn't help but ask Victor.
When Victor returned, he was alone.
If Victor hadn't told her himself that he had captured Jace, Liya wouldn't even have known that her brother had secretly done something this big.
And after that, he even asked her to go and speak with the arriving Lady Cassandra.
If it had just been a straightforward negotiation, Liya could have used many different tactics.
She could definitely have achieved a better outcome.
But the requirement Victor gave her was, 'Provoke Cassandra.'
Liya couldn't understand it.
Given the Clavenna family's foundation, going to war with the Lesser family was not a very rational move.
Besides, everyone was an imperial citizen.
Even if they really could win, the Emperor would never allow internal conflict to happen.
"Anger makes people lose their reason. And as a mother, her anger will only make her even more insane."
"Of course, I'm not deliberately trying to start a war."
Victor held a thick magic book, reading as he spoke to Liya.
The crow stood on the desk, dozing off.
"Do you know Cassandra's story?" Victor's voice sounded leisurely.
Hearing this, Liya froze for a moment, then sighed.
One hand on her hip, she spread the other helplessly.
"Isn't that obvious? Who in the Empire doesn't know the deeds of the [Saintess of War]?"
The most famous battle of the [Saintess of War] was the "Battle of Temersinev."
At that time, the powerful Kingdom of Cant, leading an elite army, disrupted the border between the Empire and the Kingdom.
That place was known as "Temersinev."
At the time, the Kingdom possessed many powerful third-tier warriors.
And under the Kingdom's unique alchemy, the armor worn by those warriors far surpassed that of the Empire.
For the Imperial army at the time, engaging the Kingdom head-on was simply foolish.
Until Cassandra appeared.
The moment the [Saintess of War] activated her ability, the Empire's powerful knights received astonishing boosts.
They gained tremendous strength, and morale soared.
No matter how thick the Kingdom warriors' armor was, in the face of absolute physical power, it could only be easily crushed.
That war was completely turned around because of Cassandra's appearance.
After that, Cassandra gained a title that belonged to her alone.
[Saintess of War]
In every battle where she appeared, the Empire had never suffered defeat.
"The bloodline of the Sol family makes every generation of princess special."
It was a bloodline blessed by the gods.
"Cassandra is like that. Aurellian is also like that."
"But unfortunately, Cassandra didn't have the same luck as Aurellian. She didn't have a father who treated her especially well."
Cassandra married someone she shouldn't have, solely to bind the Lesser family and obtain their lasting benefit and support.
After the previous Emperor died, the invincible Aubrey no longer needed it.
And the future Aurellian would need that family's support even less.
But the Lesser family was massive, with deep roots firmly occupying the Empire's south.
And this monstrous behemoth fitted with an engine was supporting Albany.
The eldest prince.
Liya stared at Victor in a daze.
"You want to… start a war?"
"Not necessarily. But I need the Lesser family to behave themselves a bit."
Victor closed the book and stood up.
His casual home clothes were automatically replaced by a black coat, accompanied by flames.
The window was pushed open, and powerful winds rushed in, making his coat flap loudly.
Outside, the sky had fallen into darkness. Heavy clouds completely blocked out the light.
Like a silent night.
Victor raised his head and looked at the pitch-black sky.
"Has Vanilla arrived?"
"After Halnarsen returned to the main family, she already came over through the teleportation array you left behind."
Hearing Liya's words, Victor nodded in satisfaction.
"Tell Henny to take care of her for me."
As his words fell, a white rune on Victor's coat began to glow faintly.
A gale gradually gathered and surged up from beneath his feet.
The papers in the room were blown about chaotically, flying wildly.
Victor put his hands in his pockets. Transparent steps seemed to appear in midair.
Step by step, he walked upward and headed out through the window.
The crow seemed to sense something as well. It hurriedly woke up, flapped its wings, flew to Victor's shoulder, and landed steadily.
Victor continued walking through the air, the storm beneath his feet growing more violent, gathering into a white vortex.
Finally, a giant bird emerged from the vortex, firmly supporting Victor on its back.
Liya ignored the messy study and hurried after him, leaning out the window.
The storm blew her hair into disarray. She reached out to brush it behind her head, just so she could see Victor clearly.
Looking at Victor standing amid the raging wind, she shouted loudly from the window, "Brother!"
"Why do you have to do this?"
Victor slowly turned around, glanced at Liya, and opened his mouth.
In an instant, the gale surged.
"Skree!"
The massive white bird let out a violent screech beneath the dark sky, carrying Victor as it shot forward at extreme speed.
Like a streak of white wind, it instantly crossed thousands of miles, flashing countless white lights through the gloomy black sky, constantly weaving between the clouds.
Liya stood there blankly, staring at the window.
A restless feeling rose in her chest, though she didn't know why.
Perhaps it was because, as he left, the words he spoke clearly reached her ears.
"Because..."
"I'm your brother."