Free Web NovelMeanwhile,
inside the Crown Prince's office within the imperial palace of the Snow Night Empire,
"T-this... Ye Xiuhu and the others... damn it!"
Looking at the shattered Soul Pearls on the table, terrifying rage erupted in Xue Tianao-Valedin's eyes!
Unable to contain himself, the furious blond man slammed his palm down, instantly reducing the entire blue sandalwood desk to powder!
The golden magic power that exploded forth startled the guards outside the office. Those with weaker strength even dropped to their knees on the spot.
Seeing this,
Talovise, who had been helping organize documents nearby, trembled slightly and hurried over to Xue Tianao-Valedin's side. Patting his shoulder gently, she comforted him softly.
"Calm down, Tianao. What happened?"
"My brothers... are dead."
"W-what exactly..."
"Haah... In order to find the Child of Destiny as quickly as possible, I sent Ye Xiuhu and the others to search near the Great Winter Forest with the unmanned reconnaissance device I made. But just now, their Soul Pearls shattered."
"W-were they attacked by Abyss Demons?"
"Most likely. Both of their Soul Pearls showed signs of corruption. However, although Amoke's Soul Pearl shattered, there wasn't any contamination."
"Tianao, are you suspecting... that Amoke was killed by someone?"
"Heh, very likely. I don't believe my men would die in some random accident..."
As he spoke, freewebnøvel.coɱ
a dazzling pale golden radiance burst forth from his azure eyes, accompanied by a chilling killing intent.
Who...
dared lay hands on my people?
—
"T-Tianao..."
Looking at the enraged Xue Tianao-Valedin, Talovise felt a pang of heartache.
But she also understood the temperament of her man.
He didn't care about one's birth, disregarded the noble hierarchy and the slave system, and promoted people solely according to their talents.
Ye Xiuhu was one of the companions Xue Tianao-Valedin had met while inspecting the common folk and acting as an adventurer years ago.
Although Ye Xiuhu had been born into a poor farming family, after recognizing his abilities, Xue Tianao-Valedin personally recruited him into the Royal Knights and even made an exception by granting him the title of "Knight."
One had to know that in the Snow Night Empire, only nobles could obtain the title of knight.
Back then, in order to help Ye Xiuhu, Xue Tianao-Valedin had even been severely punished by His Majesty.
And not just Ye Xiuhu.
Many others had also been promoted by him.
Out of gratitude, they all became fiercely loyal to him.
Likewise,
in return, Xue Tianao-Valedin spared no expense toward these companions and genuinely treated them as brothers from the bottom of his heart.
Now that his brothers had died inexplicably, his anger was only natural.
After letting out a helpless sigh inwardly, Talovise slowly exited the office and closed the door behind her.
As a woman who had accompanied him for many years, she knew that right now, her man needed some time alone.
However...
Ye Xiuhu and the others had really died?
Attacked by Abyss Demons...
And one of them had even been killed by a human?
In the northern territories...
Could the one who attacked Amoke be the Duke Family?
They had always been at odds with the royal family and had never liked Tianao.
Perhaps...
this wasn't a bad opportunity.
Whether they actually did it or not didn't matter.
It could serve as an excuse.
After everything in the capital was settled, they could use this reason to strike against the Duke Family.
After all,
causing the death of royal envoys was a grave crime~
'The Empire must achieve centralization~'
Thinking of this, an enchanting smile appeared on Talovise's face.
...
Thus,
while pondering these matters, Talovise left the Crown Prince's Palace.
But just as she stepped out of the gates, her brows furrowed slightly.
Soon afterward, she revealed her signature elegant smile and looked toward the blonde woman dressed in white and gold robes.
That woman,
was the Fourth Princess of the Snow Night Empire—
Fengling-Valedin.
"Oh my? Your Highness? What brings you here?"
Facing Talovise's greeting, Fengling merely let out a cold laugh.
"Why did Royal Brother suddenly lose his temper?"
"Ah~"
By now, Talovise had grown accustomed to the princess's attitude and didn't mind.
Helplessly waving her hand, she replied:
"Nothing much. Ye Xiuhu and the others died."
"They died? In the north? How?"
"Who knows?"
"Did they discover the Child of Destiny?"
"Not yet."
"Still nothing..."
Hearing that answer, unease flashed across Fengling's face. freewebnσvel.cѳm
But it disappeared almost immediately.
Then, she slowly spoke.
"In that case, I'll make a trip to the north."
"Hm? Your Highness?"
"Yes. To avoid war with the Crimson Leaf Empire and the Asumos Church, we must guarantee the safety of the Child of Destiny as soon as possible. I'll personally lead the search. The Fourth Army Group has just returned from the southern border, so manpower isn't an issue."
"Even so, there's no need to trouble Your Highness. Leave those matters to us."
"Don't you and Royal Brother still have negotiations to deal with? Just focus on your work. Leave finding the Child of Destiny to me."
With that,
ignoring Talovise's objections, Fengling turned and walked away, giving the purple-haired woman no face whatsoever.
In response,
Talovise could only smile helplessly and call out toward Fengling's retreating figure.
"Your Highness, if you find the Child of Destiny, remember to bring her back~ His Highness the Crown Prince has been looking forward to meeting her for a very long time~"
"..."
Upon hearing those words, Fengling's body visibly trembled.
Her steps halted momentarily.
A ball of anger seemed to gather within her heart because of that statement.
But soon,
the Fourth Princess regained her composure and continued walking silently without replying.
Meanwhile,
watching the gradually disappearing golden figure, Talovise narrowed her eyes and revealed a meaningful smile.
One day later,
within the main city of Wind Facing City in the northern territories of the Snow Night Empire,
dozens of Blizzard Knights and over a hundred soldiers from various fortresses had gathered magnificently outside the city gates.
Naturally, now that the Abyss Demon crisis had temporarily subsided, they weren't assembled for the battlefield.
They were there to welcome guests.
As the Blizzard Knights and the surrounding forces gradually regained their combat capability,
control over Garos Fortress had slowly returned to Marquis Xiumu-Duke.
Meanwhile, after completing their handover duties, the Black Rose Family forces stationed there had begun withdrawing one after another.
Although the Black Rose Family had their own motives for defending Garos Fortress, the fact that they had risked themselves against the Abyss Demon hordes was undeniable.
As the lord of the northern frontier, Xiumu-Duke naturally needed to fulfill his role as host and express gratitude toward the Black Rose Family.
Thus,
this welcoming party had been formed.
As a member of a branch of the Duke Family, Benjamin-Duke of the younger generation had received orders from Marquis Xiumu-Duke to come in place of the busy marquis and welcome the distinguished guests, while also being responsible for entertaining the honored members of the Black Rose Family.
Of course,
they weren't hosting the entire Autumnfall Legion, but rather several special individuals.
Actually,
Benjamin despised this assignment.
Not only was entertaining guests boring and tedious,
but the guests were people from the Sadik Empire?
That alone made him deeply displeased.
After all, decades ago, the Snow Night Empire and the Sadik Empire had fought bitter wars against each other.
There was blood hatred between the two nations.
As a son of the Snow Night Empire, Benjamin naturally had no favorable impression of a family from the Sadik Empire.
Not to mention that their purpose in providing aid was to obtain mining rights to the Galatmo Ice Crystal Mine.
"Ugh, troublesome..."
Benjamin, clad in heavy armor, couldn't help complaining.
At the moment, he only had one thought in mind—
to finish this so-called welcoming ceremony as quickly as possible.
Thus,
under Benjamin's impatient gaze,
the massive and sturdy city gates slowly opened.
Accompanied by the fluttering banners of the Black Rose Family,
dozens of knights draped in white cloaks and equipped with black-and-gold armor marched majestically into Wind Facing City.
Though there were only several dozen of them,
every one of them wore solemn expressions and possessed sharp eyes.
The aura they emitted caused both the welcoming troops and the surrounding civilians to tremble involuntarily.
Terrifying killing intent instantly suppressed the other military units at the gates.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon everyone...
If merely their presence was this terrifying,
their combat strength was obvious.
"Heh, they're only so-so."
Feeling the powerful pressure washing over him, Benjamin snorted disdainfully while pretending to remain calm.
However,
the moment he let out that "disdainful" snort, the young representative of the Duke Family noticed a special existence among the knights.
And the instant he saw that black figure,
Benjamin's eyes suddenly contracted.
'S-she... who is she?!'
I-is she...
someone from the Black Rose Family?
At that moment, Benjamin held his breath.
His eyes and attention had already been completely captivated by the black-haired girl standing at the center of the knight order...
