The lush forest stirred under a gentle breeze, fallen leaves drifting softly down and floating away along the river.
Under the verdant canopy, the elves played and laughed, their joyful voices echoing through the woods as they enjoyed happiness upon this land full of vitality.
But in the very next second, the elves suddenly froze in place.
Every elf wore an expression of utter shock, their minds falling completely blank.
An extremely dense surge of natural energy seemed to come from somewhere not far within the forest, rapidly engulfing all of them.
The thick, sturdy trees had somehow been bent under pressure, swaying back and forth. Yet the elves standing atop them were completely unaware that cracks had already formed in the branches beneath their feet.
Under this absolute, terrifying pressure, hundreds of elves turned in unison to look toward the direction where Viktor was.
At the entrance of the Forest Paradise, everything was surrounded by an overwhelmingly violent sea of fire, crackling as it burned.
Yet the flames that had appeared out of nowhere looked incredibly fantastical.
As if they possessed consciousness, they clung to the forest itself, yet did not spread outward even the slightest bit.
Aurelian glanced back and forth between Cassandra and Viktor, her expression filled with panic.
The two people before her, one was her teacher, and the other was her aunt.
At this moment, Cassandra was trapped within the sea of fire, her gaze vacant and unfocused.
Aurelian still remembered that Teacher Viktor had only said a single sentence.
In the blink of an eye, her aunt had already fallen into this terrifying predicament.
Aurelian hurriedly tried to explain to Viktor, "Teacher! This must be a misunderstanding!"
"Aunt Cassandra and the others haven't harmed the elves at all…"
Viktor merely stood where he was, doing nothing. The pitch-black crow on his shoulder, its single eye, flickered with a deep blue glow.
As if it were preparing for something.
He then turned to look at Aurelian and spoke calmly, "I taught you how to use your own power, but I didn't teach you how to judge things."
"That is my failure."
Aurelian was slightly stunned.
She couldn't quite understand what her teacher meant by those words.
"Let me ask you, why does the Lesser family need elves?"
Aurelian answered immediately, because this was exactly what Aunt Cassandra had just told her.
"For energy, to make ordinary people's lives more convenient."
"And then?" Viktor continued. "Have they actually made ordinary people's lives more convenient?"
Hearing Viktor's follow-up question, Aurelian froze in place, opening her mouth but finding no words.
"But… Aunt said it was just a lack of energy."
"A lack of energy is just an excuse, an excuse for a truth Cassandra is unwilling to admit."
Viktor lowered his gaze to Aurelian and asked her, "If this technology were to spread across the entire Empire, even to those remote villages, what do you think would happen?"
"That would…"
Images flashed rapidly through Aurelian's mind.
Those tedious and dangerous jobs would be replaced by puppets capable of acting on their own. Horse-drawn carriages would disappear from the streets, replaced by magical vehicles that could float through the air.
"Isn't… that better?"
Viktor replied flatly, "That would only make the poor poorer and the rich richer, pushing the Empire into extreme polarization."
When machines replace human labor, it means landowners no longer need to pay wages to workers.
They only need to spend money to buy these puppets that can work for them.
Because nobles no longer need laborers, they only need to pay the Lesser family a certain amount each year for mechanical maintenance.
The jobs of the laborers are replaced, and the wages that once went to them turn into a steady stream flowing toward the Lesser family.
But in the end, the landowners will discover that they, too, are becoming poorer and poorer.
The grain produced has no one who can afford to buy it, and piles upon piles of clothes remain unsold in the garment factories.
Because no commoners can afford them anymore.
Without jobs, commoners struggle even to eat.
Eighty percent of the world's wealth will flow into the hands of the Lesser family, as well as the nobles who partnered with them early on.
And this kind of change happens almost imperceptibly.
As Viktor spoke, Aurelian envisioned that utterly desolate scene.
She couldn't accept it for a moment. Fear appeared on her face as she turned to look at Cassandra.
"How could this be…"
Large numbers of commoners would have no food, no income, and would even mortgage their last places to live just to survive, becoming displaced and homeless.
After spending their final coin, they would have no choice but to slowly await death.
"Of course, you don't need to worry about this."
"For a long time to come, this situation won't appear."
Because the Lesser family doesn't have enough energy. They are still only in the trial phase, working toward that direction.
"You should also have seen the 'people' living in Tiepoh."
Viktor's voice rang out calmly.
"This place is called the 'City of Advancement,' and naturally, it also has advanced medical methods."
"And those residents you saw with all kinds of prosthetics, most of them come from other countries, or wealthy elites from other cities."
"Various reasons caused their physical disabilities, but they still want to live the life of a normal person. So they must live in Tiepoh, undergo annual physical examinations, and constantly replace usable prosthetics."
"Then do you know what the minimum daily expense for each of them is?"
It was a number Aurelian couldn't even imagine.
"Ten thousand Geo."
In the royal capital, ten thousand Gio could buy ten thousand loaves of bread.
But in this mechanical city of Tiepoh, it was merely the minimum daily expense for a single person.
"So everyone you see here, there isn't a single commoner, because commoners aren't even qualified to enter this city."
"Now, do you still think that everything here exists to serve ordinary people?"
In Viktor's brief words, Aurelian felt a chill run down her spine.
From Aunt Cassandra's fragmented explanations, and from the city's splendor, she had only seen the beauty on the surface.
She had completely ignored the cruel reality hidden behind it.
Tiepoh was not some carefree, beautiful city of technology.
It was nothing more than a gold-devouring monster wrapped in a gorgeous exterior.
"I never deny that your aunt, Cassandra, may have thought about the Empire's ordinary people, after all, she was once an imperial princess."
"But the Lesser family was never destined to belong to her alone."
Viktor slipped his hands into his pockets, his indifferent gaze cast toward the depths of the distant forest.
Within it, many elves cautiously peeked out by sensing traces of natural energy, watching Viktor from afar.
The instant they saw him, every one of them would be startled, immediately curling back into the dense trees.
"So you must understand why they go to such lengths to please the elves."
"Elves can bring them wealth rivaling a nation, so they use the elves' power to extract even more value for themselves."
And once elves lose their natural energy, it's like a tiger having its fangs and claws completely ripped out.
Their wild nature is utterly worn away. They no longer possess the ability to protect themselves, numbing themselves within this 'paradise' built for them, living carefree lives.
They continue supplying fresh energy to the Lesser family, all while believing that humans truly treat them well.
"Of course, I won't criticize this behavior, because these elves are doing it voluntarily. Although they were coaxed into coming here, they truly haven't opposed the Lesser family's actions."
Viktor's words entered Aurelian's ears, one by one.
Her body trembled slightly as she lowered her head, utterly confused.
At this point, she could no longer tell who was right and who was wrong.
Aunt Cassandra had indeed painted a beautiful future for her.
Combined with this advanced city, it truly gave her some hope and fantasies about the future.
But that beautiful dream had been completely torn apart by Teacher Viktor.
The reality hidden behind it was laid bare before Aurelian's eyes.
"But… why does the Lesser family need so much money?"
Viktor looked at the confused Aurelian, just about to say something, when suddenly, Vega's voice slowly sounded beside his ear.
"Viktor, we can leave now."
Its single eye no longer glowed, and Cassandra seemed as if all her strength had been drained, collapsing to her knees.
Viktor merely gave Cassandra a brief glance, seeing her utterly despondent state.
Finally, his gaze shifted toward the entrance gate.
"Although I'd really like to tell you more, but…"
The doors of the research institute burst open with a thunderous crash. Elsa led a large number of warriors as they charged inside.
The guards immediately saw Cassandra kneeling on the ground, and Elsa's face changed drastically.
She lifted her head, and happened to see Viktor.
Elsa's expression turned extremely grim. She placed her hand on the hilt at her waist and shouted sternly, "Notify all of the family's high-tier combat forces."
"Classify the intruder Viktor as the highest-level threat."
"Launch an immediate attack, no need to capture him alive."
The warriors instantly drew their weapons, their faces solemn as they surrounded Viktor.
Yet Viktor simply stood there quietly, making no move at all.
Seeing this, Aurelian lifted her skirt and stepped forward aggressively, standing in front of Viktor.
She confronted all the warriors before her.
"I am Aurelian Sol. You should all know who I am."
"Now, tell me, what exactly do you intend to do to my teacher?"
Elsa looked at Aurelian, narrowing her eyes. Her hand on the hilt, however, did not relax.
"Your Highness, please don't make this difficult for us."
"What, are you planning to attack me too?!"
Aurelian's voice rang out sharply. She stared at Elsa, her eyes carrying a maturity and authority far beyond her age.
The warriors couldn't help but feel intimidated, retreating a few steps.
Attacking the Empire's princess was an extremely serious crime, no one present could bear the consequences.
Suddenly, green phosphorescent light began to emerge. Countless vines surged in from all directions, wrapping around the warriors.
The vines hung suspended in midair, and no matter how they struggled, it was utterly futile.
Seeing this, Aurelian was startled.
She was just about to turn around when she felt a warm, large hand rest gently on the top of her head, shifting her body slightly to the side.
A slow yet confident voice sounded calmly behind her.
"Aurelian."
"I'm not so fragile that I need a student to protect her teacher."