Celia stood beside Aurelian, frozen in place, mouth slightly open, not daring to make a single sound.
These words… were they really something she was allowed to hear?
Suddenly, as if she thought of something, she hurriedly turned her head to look at the servants around them.
'This kind of talk absolutely must not spread!'
Fortunately, those servants didn't even glance over this way. Their expressions were calm, completely as if they hadn't heard anything at all.
They were clearly pretending to be deaf and blind.
After all, Aurelian treated these servants very well, so naturally they wouldn't pick a fight with their own master.
Celia blinked and could only answer somewhat haltingly, "Y-Your Highness…"
"Your subordinate… doesn't understand these things…"
Discussing matters like this in the palace was already a grave act of disrespect.
Even if Aurelian was a princess, the emperor's favorite child.
After all, Emperor Aubrey was still sitting firmly on the throne.
Such blunt words were practically declaring that one coveted the throne. Even the two princes wouldn't dare make such dangerous statements.
In the minds of most people, the throne was passed to men, not women.
From the founding of the empire until now, there had been eight emperors. Every single one of them was male.
Where was there ever such a thing as a princess ruling as regent?
Not to mention… becoming an empress.
Unless Her Highness the Princess could be as powerful as the current emperor... or even more powerful than him.
Powerful enough to suppress all voices and actions of dissent by herself alone.
Celia absolutely did not dare say more.
Aurelian narrowed her eyes, seeming to grow a little sleepy.
"Is that so…"
Celia beside her didn't dare say anything either. She could only lower her head quietly, her body trembling slightly.
But soon, Celia could no longer hear Aurelian speaking.
She raised her head slightly and secretly glanced at Aurelian.
The princess was lying peacefully atop that transparent, slowly flowing whirlwind, sleeping soundly.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, her slightly babyish face making her look very cute.
Celia watched her quietly, her gaze incredibly complicated.
Setting aside Aurelian's status as a princess, Her Highness was really just a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl.
She should have had an innocent, carefree life.
Yet now, it seemed as if she was forcing herself to shoulder something extremely heavy and difficult.
———
"I won't!"
In the Clavenna garden, a stubborn voice suddenly rang out from among the flowers.
Cocotte was like a mule. She tilted her head, pouted, and sat firmly atop a cloud like a giant Buddha, unmoving no matter what anyone said.
She glared at the man in front of her with dissatisfaction and shouted loudly, "You said it yourself before! As long as I helped you, I wouldn't have to work anymore!"
"This is coercion! I'm going to Aubrey to complain about you!"
Victor stood with his hands in his pockets, expressionless, calmly looking at this former lazy councilor.
"I'll say it again. As an employee of the Clavenna family, you are obligated to work for me."
"And besides, the person you're protecting this time is the emperor's daughter."
"Simply put, this time you're not just working for me, you're also working for the emperor."
The unspoken meaning was clear, go complain if you want.
See whether the emperor thinks his daughter is more important, or your sleep is.
Cocotte gritted her teeth, one arm crossed in front of her chest, frowning as she stared at Victor like a food-guarding puppy.
"You!"
"You think this will make me agree?!"
"I'm telling you, I absolutely refuse!"
Victor still spoke just as calmly, "If you don't listen, I'll send you home."
"Waaah… fine, I'll agree, okay."
Today's argument ended with Cocotte, defeated.
After dealing with this stubborn mule, Liya slowly walked over from the side and said to Victor, "All the demi-humans are gathered… so what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Take them on a long trip." Victor replied indifferently.
Hearing his short answer, Liya showed a helpless expression, pressed her forehead, and sighed, "You're leaving again? How many days this time?"
Victor turned his head to look at Liya and replied unhurriedly, "If you miss me, you just need to use this."
Victor reached out and lightly tapped her glove.
Liya didn't dodge his hand, but her body leaned back slightly, as if somewhat disgusted.
Her cheeks, like lightly ripened apples, flushed red as she gently turned her head away.
"At my age, why would I miss you? I'm not that sentimental."
Victor nodded and didn't continue responding to his tsundere little sister.
Liya, however, seemed to think of something. She secretly glanced at Victor and lightly coughed.
"Ahem, by the way, does Henny know you're leaving? She hasn't been in a very good state lately."
Victor seemed completely unconcerned and replied calmly, "I already told her in advance."
Henny's condition was exactly what he expected.
After learning the truth that she wasn't human, Henny naturally needed some time for self-doubt.
Once she fully accepted her identity, she would slowly come out of that inner struggle.
And she would become even stronger than before.
Moreover, Victor had already returned the overfed Laiton back to Henny.
This time, he was taking Cocotte with him.
If anything unexpected happened at home, there was still Laiton to stand guard.
A gust of black wind circled in the sky. Victor slowly raised his head and looked toward the horizon.
A black crow slowly flew down from the sky.
It circled a few times and steadily landed on Victor's shoulder.
The crow's mysterious, deep single eye gathered a barely perceptible glimmer of light. Its beak opened and closed beside Victor's ear, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Everything's ready."
"But I still don't quite understand your motive."
Victor kept his hands in his pockets and silently walked toward the garden exit.
As he walked, he responded to Vega, "Demi-humans are easy to control. You should know that."
Vega nodded in agreement.
To become a believer, the basic requirement was sincere devotion of the heart, wholehearted faith in a god.
And Vega, as a crow who… did nothing but eat, sleep, and read lewd books all day, no one even knew its divine name.
Habika's true name was so rare that no country could find any record of it.
After all, this ancient god of immense age was no benevolent being.
Even if someone did know, they would never include it in history for the world to learn about.
Naturally, it was difficult for anyone to sincerely believe in Vega.
After all, they didn't even know what kind of god Vega was.
So Victor had to take another path.
Thus…
"Demi-humans became the best choice."
After recalling that the empire still had demi-human slaves, Victor immediately realized the value of these beings that were similar to humans, yet not human.
They also possessed intelligence and thought, but compared to the complex web of human relationships, they were much simpler.
In the world of demi-humans, there was only one thing, "living."
Living was their sole purpose. For that, they would grasp at any hope that allowed them to survive.
This applied equally to demi-human slaves.
And once a powerful god appeared, as long as they believed in that god, they could live better.
The demi-humans would willingly offer their faith.
They had no reason not to make their lives better.
A blue light flashed in Vega's eye, the symbol of wisdom.
"No wonder."
"From the moment you saw those demi-human slaves, you were already planning this, weren't you?"
Making enemies of the Lesser family, threatening them, the merchant family most deeply involved in trafficking demi-human slaves.
Obtaining vast amounts of weapons and funds from them, then bringing the demi-human army fully into the open.
"But will the empire allow it?"
"Whether it allows it isn't important. What matters is what the future emperor will think."
Victor's calm yet unquestionable voice rang out.
Vega slightly widened its single eye.
"Overthrowing the founding regime of a powerful nation? Interesting."
"Victor, you're even crazier than I imagined."
So what would Vega do?
"Choosing you was the most correct decision I've ever made."
As the words fell, a trace of madness seemed to appear in Vega's gaze.
Since humans couldn't be relied on, why not switch to another race?
To Vega, who its believers were didn't matter.
What mattered was simply having them.
"It's time to go."
The coat behind Victor swayed gently in the air, but after only a moment, that sway turned into wild flapping.
"We should go pick them up."
The instant the words fell, the breeze seemed to turn into a violent beast, its entire body rising from the ground.
It stirred up a fierce storm, continuously rolling and spinning dust from the earth, spiraling upward into the sky.
Dark clouds gathered thickly in the heavens, as if blotting out the sun's light.
The heavy clouds were twisted into a massive vortex by the raging wind, constantly warping, like a gigantic eye forming, adding an eerie atmosphere.
Liya and Cocotte stood behind Victor, feeling the sinister wind blowing nonstop.
The violent air tugged at their collars. Facing the raging storm, they stared blankly at Victor's back.
Behind Victor, there seemed to be an extremely dark, ghostly crow silhouette trembling beneath the sky.
It grew larger and larger, until its form fully stabilized, stretching into a sinister grin as it looked toward the heavens.
Arrogance, disdain, pride…
Those emotions seemed to pour all at once into that wicked smile, filling the heavy air.
At this moment, the sky above the royal capital grew darker than ever before.
[T/N: So, I saw most of you want me to continue with 2 Chapters/Day so it will go on like this. Have a great day~]