[Vol. 8] Chapter 282: The Seed Begins to Grow
As Carinvega’s main adviser and most trusted aide, Rosie was, of course, never kept in the dark about the princess’s plans. In fact, this whole matter, from the original idea, to the mysterious design blueprint that no one knew where it came from, to the detailed execution plan, had all started with Carinvega’s suggestion and was then worked out by Rosie and the others.
Even the decision for Carinvega to stay in the Princess’s Palace under the excuse of being ill to personally oversee the work was something they had agreed on together.
But as for the real reason behind all this, even Rosie herself did not completely know. Still, since it was the princess’s decision, there had to be a deep meaning behind it. Naturally, they would give her their full support.
A young girl with long flowing hair and two different-colored eyes, one brown, one silver, stood in a pavilion wearing an elegant palace dress. In her hand was a delicate folding fan. In her clear and beautiful eyes, there was a faint light that made it hard to guess what she was thinking. She simply shook her head and said:
“For now, let’s stop at this point. In the end, the main person in this matter is my royal brother, not me. Doing too much would not be good.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Rosie listened to the princess’s words, which sounded vague and hard to fully understand. A faint sharpness flashed in her eyes, but she simply nodded respectfully without asking more. She stood quietly in place, watching Carinvega from the corner of her eye, her mind full of thoughts.
As expected, Her Highness is starting to prepare for those matters…
After the trip to Sainz Academy, Princess Carinvega had changed greatly. In the past, the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus] had always been low-key and reserved. She did not chase after credit, always willing to let herself remain hidden in the shadows. But in truth, the contributions she made to the Austre Empire were five or even ten times greater than what outsiders knew.
Many close friends and subordinates who knew the truth had felt regret for her more than once. But Rosie understood very well the reasons behind Carinvega’s choices.
There’s a saying: “Too much merit can threaten the ruler.” Even though she was a princess, right now she was only a princess. This great Empire had its own master, and the current Emperor was extremely talented, ambitious, and controlling. He would never allow anything to be beyond his grasp. Her Highness’s abilities were simply too outstanding. If she stood out too much, she might not receive more rewards, but instead face suppression… or even danger to her life.
As someone with wisdom, even Rosie could see this clearly. Her Highness, of course, understood it even better.
But just because she chose not to fight or compete, that didn’t mean others would treat her the same way.
The turmoil in Sainz seemed to be organized in secret by certain terrorist groups, and even the Austre Empire appeared to be one of the victims. But if one looked deeper, strange details could be found.
The incident had harmed the princess deeply, especially in the case of Orluk, who was lured into making a serious mistake. Although in the end the princess rushed about to protect her life and help her atone for her crime, she was still punished severely and has remained without personal freedom to this day.
And the true mastermind? The one who planned such a huge event still walks free, facing no control or punishment. For those of them who know the truth, how could they feel at peace?
Her Highness is a person who values loyalty and relationships. She might not care about almost losing her own life in an assassination attempt, but when someone close to her is used and harmed like that, even if she says nothing, she is surely unwilling to forgive it in her heart.
This Imperial Capital… it might soon face great change.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! That person came again today. Can you meet him now?”
At that moment, a small orange figure appeared quickly from the distance, moving lightly until she reached the two girls. Carinvega didn’t seem surprised at the news. She simply nodded slightly, then smiled and patted the little cat-girl’s head. Turning to Rosie, she said,
“I’ll leave things here for you to watch over. Just continue as usual. I’ll go meet him.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please rest assured.”
“Ha ha~ I’ve always trusted you to handle things well. Then, Noelle, let’s go.”
“Mm-hm!”
Without wasting more time, Carinvega followed the cat-girl messenger, and her figure slowly disappeared behind the courtyard’s side gate. Only then did the blonde girl, who had been bowing slightly, raise her head. She looked toward the place where her master had gone, her beautiful eyes filled with feelings she could not put into words.
“Your Highness… is becoming more and more like a true ruler.”
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Eastern border of the Holy Empire – Purple Mist City
It had been about a week since a wormhole suddenly appeared and otherworldly creatures invaded in large numbers.
Thanks to the quick response of the stationed troops, and what was said to be a miracle where the goddess herself appeared, the invasion was finally beaten back. But the sudden battle had brought heavy losses to the Purple Mist City.
Of the three holy knight orders guarding the city, The Valiant Riders, Holy Wrath, and Hand of Judgment, the first two suffered the most. Because their camps were outside the city, they were the first to clash with the enemy. Their casualties were severe, over 20% killed and almost everyone else injured.
Although the damage was not enough to destroy their forces completely, together with later reinforcements and the fighting that followed, this single battle cost the Holy Empire over 5,000 elite soldiers, nearly one-sixth of the city’s main fighting power.
Even on the main battlefield against the Austre Empire, the Holy Empire had never suffered such a big loss since the war began. When the Judgement Saintess reported this to the Holy Capital, the Goddess Church immediately gave it serious attention and made new plans.
The fighting on the front line was not yet critical, but the pressure from the Austre Empire’s million-strong army was no joke. Pulling troops away to defend the border was not really possible. Besides, this invasion of otherworldly creatures had come without warning. No one could be sure where they would appear next.
So the church decided to send reinforcements from within the country to strengthen the border defenses, and also take the chance to deal with the disaster in the Theo Province, which still had not been resolved.
The Holy Empire, with a thousand years of history, still had deep reserves of strength. Even after repeated battles and heavy losses, it could still respond to sudden crises. But its national power and army were not limitless. This time, the Goddess Church would send its true might to crush the situation.
Aside from the Pope Edwina, who would remain in the Holy Capital, two of the Three Saintesses, Bright Light Saintess and Redemption Saintess, would personally lead the mission to the eastern border. They would bring with them the strongest holy knight order in the Holy Capital, the God’s Grace knights, as well as the healing troops from the Flower City.
This force, although less than 20,000 people, had strength equal to several full holy knight orders combined. With the two Saintesses who each carried a sacred relic, their overall power might not be far behind the main army on the front lines.
Using a newly-developed teleportation technology created by an enthusiastic scholar, they could cross thousands of kilometers in just a few days, reaching the eastern border quickly to handle any sudden situation with the combined power of the three Saintesses.
Troubles were piling up, and with the involvement of the World Sustainers, the deadlock between the Holy Empire and the Austre Empire might soon change. The direction of the war was becoming more and more uncertain and unpredictable.
A storm was coming, like a dark mountain pressing heavily on everyone’s shoulders, making it hard to breathe. It was as if the sky itself was announcing a truth that was becoming clearer by the day.
The true war was about to begin.