Chapter 592.1: The Miracle Child (1)
No one could refute that Lilian was a prodigy.
Her talents went beyond just her transcendent abilities to other fields, such as painting, music, mathematics, literature, and so on. This equipped her with a vast spectrum of knowledge to interpret the world around her, which was why she would always try to switch her perspective whenever she encountered an incomprehensible situation.
Nora’s letter, from a military perspective, was a farce. It was such an unreasonable request that one would think that she was ridiculing Lilian, which was why Audrey had viewed the request in contempt.
However, Lilian thought that there was something amiss about it.
Nora Xeclyde, the successor to the Saint Mesit Theocracy, had never expressed strong aversion toward the Austine Empire. She was the type of person to see the bigger picture and prioritize humankind’s benefits above her personal feelings, not to mention that their relationship had been improving over the past year.
It didn’t make sense for Nora to send such a letter at this juncture to antagonize her.
So, Lilian tried casting aside her initial prejudice upon seeing the letter to analyze Nora’s intent, and she swiftly noticed many key details.
“Something is off about the letter.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness? Is this letter not from the Theocracy’s princess?”
“No, this is indeed a handwritten letter from her. Her request for help should be sincere as well. It’s just that… she seems to be hinting something to me.”
“Hinting?” Audrey blinked in confusion.
As straightforward as Nora’s letter was, her tone was vastly different from those she had previously used in her official letters, which was rather jarring to note, as Lilian could tell that this was Nora’s handwritten letter.
After some consideration, Lilian could only think of one possibility.
Nora must have intentionally altered her tone to tell her that there was more to the letter and that her goal was not just a simple military operation. It was just that she couldn’t pen it down in the letter lest the news get out.
Lilian could see where Nora was coming from, knowing that the Austine Empire was surveilling her.
Her conflict with Emperor Lukas had only further intensified due to her recent maneuvers, but the latter couldn’t do anything about her yet due to her influential position on the frontline. Her outstanding accomplishments on the frontline made her an indispensable asset to the united army. Until the day the deviants were wiped out, Emperor Lukas wouldn’t be able to touch her, at least not in the open.
The natural consequence of their deteriorating ties was the Austine Empire’s tightening surveillance on her.
.
All letters delivered to Lilian had to go through the Austine Empire’s channels before reaching Noyce Fortress. It was simply too easy for someone to tamper with the letters, such that Lilian could say with absolute confidence that she wasn’t the first person to see its content.
Nora, as the successor of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, had to be aware of Lilian’s conflict with Lukas, as well as the Austine Empire’s surveillance of her. It would make sense for Nora to use this roundabout manner to inform her that there was more to the situation than there seemed.
Still, this was hardly enough intelligence for Lilian to act on.
“Is there any internal information about this military operation in the united army?”
“No, Your Highness. There is no information about this military operation at all.”
“Is this an intelligence clampdown? Is it targeted at the entire Austine Empire, or…” Lilian murmured with narrowed eyes, as she grew increasingly perplexed about the situation.
Audrey also fell into deep thought.
With humankind uniting on the same front to counter the deviants, it had become the norm for countries to share intel with one another. A military operation of the scale Nora was proposing would surely require prior reporting to the united army, but Lilian hadn’t received any information beforehand.
What is the Saint Mesit Theocracy planning? Lilian wondered.
Audrey hesitated for a brief moment before voicing her thought, “Your Highness, the empire has been tightening its surveillance on us. We risk giving His Majesty a pretext to act against us if we recklessly dispatch our troops at this juncture. That’ll impede our future plans.”
“…That might be so, but I have a feeling that there is something more to this situation.”
“Your Highness, do you mean to…”
“…Dispatch the 11th to 15th Knight Orders as reinforcement,” Lilian ordered.
Audrey was stunned.
The 11th to 15th Knight Orders were the core military force under Lilian’s command. Each of these orders was made up of 20,000 knights, which added up to a total strength of 100,000 knights. They comprised solely Noyce Fortress’ veterans, the soldiers that had been with Lilian from the very start. They were her most loyal and strongest bunch of subordinates.
While Lilian might not have dispatched her full army, her willingness to send her core military force showed her sincerity.
Frankly speaking, Audrey thought that it was overboard to dispatch 100,000 elites for a single letter requesting help, but she held her tongue since her liege had already made up her mind. Besides, there was something more important she needed to attend to.
“Your Highness, it’s about time for dinner.”
“…All right.”
After having finally dealt with Nora’s letter, Lilian glanced at the scenery outside and saw that it was already nighttime. She rose from her office desk and headed over to the dining table, where Audrey had already neatly laid out the dishes.
Eating had been a torture to Lilian over the past year due to her morning sickness, but for the safety of her child, she insisted on eating on time every day to nourish herself.
While high transcendents could survive without food, the child in Lilian’s stomach was still a mortal incapable of absorbing mana for sustenance, so it needed solid food for nourishment. This left Lilian with no choice but to make adjustments accordingly.
Fortunately, Audrey and the chefs had finally found a way to circumvent her morning sickness after months of research. For instance, they began using redstone salt in their cooking, which removed most food stench. They also blended vegetables and fruits into juice and mellowed the taste with honey to make it more palatable.
There was not a change in Lilian’s expression as she gracefully consumed the food, though she would occasionally glance at her womb with tender eyes.
Audrey breathed a sigh of relief before asking Lilian about how she had been feeling recently.
It was actually Lilian’s order for her to say something during mealtimes to divert her attention elsewhere. Audrey initially struggled with it, but she gradually grew accustomed to it over time. Before she knew it, idle chatter had already become a staple during mealtimes.
“Your Highness, do you feel any discomfort? Please voice any issues so that I can take precautions.”
“I don’t feel any… No, there is something.”
“Hm?”
Audrey’s eyes narrowed as she quickly gathered her focus to investigate the matter. On the other hand, Lilian looked a little conflicted, not knowing how she should describe the matter.
“It feels like I have been missing a part of my mana recently.”
“Missing a part of your mana? What do you mean?”
“My rate of mana depletion is higher than before. I’m still figuring out the reason behind that,” Lilian replied with a confused expression.
Audrey breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that it was not a huge issue.
While Lilian was a powerful transcendent, her condition had been unstable in the recent year. An increased rate of mana depletion for her was nothing worthy of note. It could have been due to her deepening Degree of Assimilation, or because she was still healing from past battle wounds.
In the Battle of Stanlos, a decisive battle between humankind and the deviants last year that dictated the future trajectory of the war, Lilian had personally joined the frontline and had a brief clash with a sword-bearing deviant Race Sovereign nicknamed ‘Swordghost’.
Swordghost was a formidable opponent, but faced with Lilian’s endless stream of summoned Ancient Austine Empire soldiers, the Race Sovereign eventually decided to make its retreat. However, Lilian ended up sustaining some injuries on her arm in the battle.
These injuries were nothing major, but they were imbued with bizarre mana that greatly slowed their rate of recovery.
Audrey believed that was likely the reason behind Lilian’s higher rate of mana depletion, so she wasn’t too worried about it. Still, to be safe, she decided to go through the proper procedures.
“I see… I understand. I’ll check on it tomorrow. Please have a good rest tonight.”
“Mm. I’m almost done with today’s work,” Lilian replied before putting down her cutlery, thus concluding the dinner.
Audrey cleared the crockery and helped Lilian gargle before backing out of the room.
Lilian would usually spend some time reading before turning in for the night—that had always been her bedtime hobby—but for some reason, she felt a little discomposed tonight. Unable to take anything in, she closed her book and looked out of the window.
Seeing that tonight’s stars were exceptionally bright, she opened her balcony door to enjoy the night sky.
…
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