The scene looked quite bizarre.
A tall blonde woman with a vast army behind her.
Facing them was a pink-haired girl who looked only about sixteen years old.
The forces seemed disproportionate, yet a closer look revealed the blonde woman and her army wearing extremely grave expressions, while the pink-haired girl's face seemed relaxed, as if victory was assured.
Elashia hadn't brought troops out of the city because she knew it was unnecessary.
Moreover, bringing troops might actually backfire—once a conflict erupted with the First Imperial Guard, she would be crushed to dust in an instant.
Elashia knew that Cecilia, whose personality had drastically changed, would never attack her rashly. Furthermore, since the incredibly powerful Cecilia loved her soldiers like children, the First Imperial Guard was essentially her private force. As long as Elashia could make Cecilia abandon her resistance, this final force that could threaten her would immediately become hers.
"Oh my! What a pity, while you were executing your mission, the old emperor passed away. Since the treasury is temporarily quite depleted, we just held a simple funeral for him. Well! Just pretend he never existed."
Cecilia clenched her fists.
Although she also hated the old emperor—the man who not only deceived her but also separated her from her sister, allowing her to meet her sister only once a month, and even then from a full ten meters away to prevent her from suddenly taking her sister and fleeing—
But the girl before her, who looked no more than sixteen, could remain so calm about the old emperor's death and dare to show such composure in front of so many people.
She didn't even bother to pretend!
"Since a country cannot go a day without a ruler, I accepted the request of the ministers and have now become the emperor."
The pink-haired girl smiled.
But to Cecilia, this smile was no different from a demon's.
She didn't even transition, just went straight to this?
She... didn't even bother to pretend?
Before Cecilia's thoughts could finish, the next sentence from the pink-haired demon nearly seized her heart.
"Oh! Right! I visited your sister a few days ago. She's so adorable."
What!
Cecilia immediately understood—she was threatening her!
Cecilia was furious but also helpless.
After all... this was her weakness.
Anger wouldn't solve the problem and could easily make things worse.
She understood this too well.
However, Elashia's next words suddenly changed direction.
"Given your outstanding abilities, and since we now need to form a truly powerful army, I wish to disband all Imperial Guard units and then establish a new army. Would you be interested?"
Cecilia immediately understood.
The demon before her wanted to take away her military power!
But what could she do... her sister was still in their hands...
"I shall resolve Your Majesty's concerns."
Cecilia removed her armor and knelt on one knee.
The heavy iron armor crashed to the ground, like a funeral bell announcing the passing of the old dynasty.
"Very good, very good. Would you join me tomorrow in the royal gardens for a discussion?"
?!
The royal gardens!
Isn't that where they're keeping my sister?
What... what does she want to do?
Cecilia was terrified.
"I will be waiting for you in the royal gardens. Please don't keep me waiting long."
The pink-haired demon waved and left.
Leaving only Cecilia trembling in fear.
"Commander, I'll take the troops back."
An old officer behind Cecilia spoke up.
He was Siris, the Deputy Commander of the First Imperial Guard.
Having worked with Cecilia since she arrived at the capital, Siris understood her very well.
He treated Cecilia almost like his own daughter.
Whenever the old emperor forced her to do things she didn't want to do, he would always intimidate her with phrases like, "You don't want your sister to suffer, do you?"
And no matter how resistant or firm Cecilia had been before, no matter how despicable or cruel the old emperor's demands were, as soon as he played this card, Cecilia would immediately give in.
"Commander, go home and calm yourself."
Cecilia just nodded numbly, abandoning even the armor she had just removed on the ground.
Watching the disheartened Cecilia, Deputy Commander Siris sighed helplessly.
Each generation of Elasia emperors was worse than the last, and he didn't know where the country's fate would lead.
In a deserted alley in Radiant Emperor City.
Elashia cautiously looked around.
Finding no one following her, the still-shaken Elashia immediately collapsed onto the ground.
My goodness, that was terrifying! (>_<)
After all, it was just her facing an entire army. Although she knew she was almost certainly safe, the grand scene was still too intense for her.
She had just used [Appraisal] to check Cecilia's status.
Cecilia's warrior level was a full 40!
What did a level 40 human mean?
This was the strongest warrior in the millennium since Elasia's founding!
But her stats were quite average, like those of a level 30.
Elashia knew very well why—as a "Guardian Knight," Cecilia could only exert her full strength after finding a lord worthy of her lifelong protection.
But even at level 30, Cecilia was undoubtedly the strongest warrior in the Elasia Empire.
"Sigh, I had no choice just now, I had to scare Cecilia a little, otherwise if the First Imperial Guard went out of control, it would be over. I'll clear up the misunderstanding next time we meet."
Elashia muttered to herself.
The system's prompt sounded.
[Task completed, issuing reward to host]
[Skill: Dead Wood Comes to Life]
[Dead Wood Comes to Life: Infuse powerful life force into the target's body, capable of healing injuries and disabilities. Note: Using this skill consumes a great amount of physical strength, please use with caution]
"Great!"
Just what she needed—Elashia needed this skill right now.
In the royal gardens.
As Elashia walked into this vast garden, one amazing sight after another entered her view.
One massive palace after another, wide and meandering rivers, huge magical lakes, numerous broad aerial walkways connecting countless enormous structures...
What extravagance!
Elashia cursed inwardly.
She recalled the "Rhapsody of the Epang Palace" she had learned in high school literature.
"Six kings ended, four seas united, Mount Shu stood tall, Epang Palace emerged. Covering over three hundred li, blocking out sun and sky..."
Due to her playfulness back then, Elashia had memorized only this part of the "Rhapsody of the Epang Palace" in high school, and her memory, dimmed by college forgetfulness, brightened again upon seeing this terrifyingly luxurious garden.
Such a massive building, costing countless resources, spanning three generations, existing solely for the Elasia Emperor's pleasure?
Despite its frightening size, there were few people in the garden. When the emperor wasn't visiting, besides maintenance staff, only Cecilia's sister Sophia lived there.
This giant garden, which could house at least tens of thousands of people, now housed only a few hundred.
Not utilizing it would be a great loss for the Elasia Empire.
Thinking this, Elashia walked toward Sophia's house from her memory.
It was a very small house.
The tiny house seemed out of place among the other massive buildings.
She knocked on the door, but no one answered.
"Are you looking for Little Sophia?"
A woman cleaning noticed her first.
Elashia nodded.
"She's helping us wash clothes."
"Good, thank you."
After thanking her, Elashia was about to leave.
"Wait!"
The woman called Elashia back.
"Judging from your appearance, you're from the palace, aren't you?"
"I..."
Before Elashia could finish, the woman continued on her own.
"In these times, young girls who dare wear such beautiful clothes are extremely rare, and those who can come to this place are probably only people from the palace."
The woman paused, then continued.
"Sophia is truly a kind, gentle, and lively child... With no obligation, she helps everyone in the garden... Even though she herself has a disability in both legs... She's really like... like an angel who came to the mortal world."
"Her sister has told us about her situation. Since you're here, it must mean her sister is in trouble, and now you need to use Sophia."
The woman knelt before Elashia.
"I am just an ordinary civilian who can earn a living here thanks to the emperor's grace. Speaking to you at the risk of my life, I only ask... that you not be too brutal in your methods..."
Elashia was stunned.
But soon she smiled again.
A plan quietly formed.
"Haha, aunty, you're overthinking. I'm a doctor sent by Her Imperial Majesty."
...
By a small stream, a blonde girl sat on the bank, humming while carefully washing clothes.
The only discordant element in this harmonious scene was the wheelchair beside the girl.
Mercilessly declaring the fact that the girl could no longer walk.
The arrival of another pink-haired girl broke this peaceful scene.
"Little sister, working alone?"
Elashia smiled as she approached Sophia on the bank.
The blonde girl wasn't afraid when she saw the strange girl approaching and smiled sweetly.
"Yes, pretty pink-haired big sister."
Elashia smiled warmly.
"What a sweet-talking little girl."
Elashia sat down beside her.
"Hello, Little Sophia, I'm a friend of your sister. You can call me Ela."
As soon as Sophia heard news of her sister, she perked up her ears.
"Did something happen to my sister?"
Sophia suddenly remembered what her sister had told her.
"If something happens to me, my friend will come to take you to a safe place."
Faced with the anxious Sophia, Elashia just smiled gently.
"No, your sister is doing very well now."
Elashia looked outside.
"Little girl, you haven't been out for years, have you?"
Elashia patted Sophia's head.
Elashia smiled and continued: "Actually, that bad person who wouldn't let you meet your sister Cecilia has been defeated by your big sister me."
"Really, Big Sister Ela?"
Sophia's eyes were filled with disbelief.
[System Task Issued]
[Task One: To maintain strict control over Cecilia, directly use mind control on Sophia, ensuring Cecilia can never leave you. Task Reward: Undead Slayer (Spell)]
[Task Two: Continue using the old emperor's methods, not allowing them to meet, and to keep Cecilia on a leash, allow Sophia to meet Cecilia once a month, still keeping them ten meters apart. Task Reward: Mage level increased by one]
[Task Three: I am the embodiment of goodness, giving the sisters their freedom Task Reward: Warrior level increased by three]
Task One was truly despicable.
And that line "ensuring Cecilia can never leave you"...
I'm not a yandere, okay? T_T
The approach in Task Two had actually troubled Elashia before.
Originally, Elashia was worried about this issue—if she allowed Sophia and Cecilia to reunite, it might be difficult to control Cecilia.
And the task rewards also indicated that Task Two carried far greater risk than Task Three.
But!
I choose Task Three!
Elashia barely hesitated.
This is exactly when I want to use [Dead Wood Comes to Life]!
If she hadn't received this skill at that time, Elashia might have had to choose Task Two.
But, who says she didn't get it!
Elashia smiled and patted Sophia's head.
"Of course, Sister Cecilia will come tomorrow. You sisters will never have to meet from ten meters apart again."
[Task completed]
Elashia immediately felt a powerful force surge from within.
[Task Reward: Warrior level increased by three]
[Character: Elashia]
[Age: 16]
[Mage Level: 3 (Apprentice Level)]
[Magic Power: 8]
[Energy: 10]
[Warrior Level: 4 (Roughly the combat ability of a soldier)]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 10]
[Occupation: Empress]
[Faction: Elasia Empire]
But before Elashia could carefully feel the fullness of power within her, the shimmering water in Sophia's sapphire-blue eyes caught her attention.
Then.
This child burst into tears with a "waaah"!
Oh no!
Now Elashia was confused.
She was worst at handling crying children!
"Eh? Don't cry!"
"Wuuu!"
The blonde girl crashed into Elashia's arms!
Elashia was sweating profusely! (｡ò ∀ ó｡)
This child was really something, trusting her so much after just meeting her. (눈_눈)