Whether it was Astoria or Henrietta, they quickly realized the excited imperial guard's strange choice of words.
It would have been understandable if the imperial guard had said true heir or legitimate heir.
After all, Astoria was the firstborn of Siegfreid Braveheart, the last king of the old Holy Knight Kingdom.
However, the imperial guard had used the word "truest."
What on earth was the truest heir? An heir that was even more authentic than the true heir? What does that even mean?
More importantly, Astoria had been severely injured and taken away for recovery before she could even set foot into the holy city.
Given she had been away from the Holy Knight Empire for three hundred years, the number of people that could still recognize her shouldn't exceed the number of fingers on one's hand.
And yet, the imperial guard recognized her as the truest heir to the imperial throne without addressing her name.
In other words, her identity as Siegfreid's firstborn wasn't important to this imperial guard; there was another reason for his recognition.
'Could it be…?'
Astoria suddenly thought of her golden dragon bloodline.
That said, she also found it hard to believe it would suddenly become the highest qualification to rule the Holy Knight Empire. After all, she had never known about the existence of the golden dragon bloodline prior to the bloodline awakening.
Her late father had never mentioned anything about it to her when he was still around.
"Who are you? Why did you call me the truest heir?" Astoria inquired with knitted brows.
Although her tone made her question sound like an interrogation, the kneeling imperial guard felt a surge of excitement and honor upon hearing her words directed at him.
The imperial guard was overwhelmed with joy, as if he was meeting and interacting with his idol for the first time.
However, it must be noted that the imperial guard didn't have such strong feelings prior to their meeting.
"I am Perrin Elderwatch, my Lady. Wilbert Elderwatch, the Imperial Legion's commander, is my grandfather," Perrin introduced himself before saying, "And I apologize for not being able to explain my reason here."
"However, if you could follow me to meet my grandfather, we will be sure to answer all of your doubts then, my Lady," Perrin requested with a sincere and serious look.
"Elderwatch… Imperial Legion…" Astoria softly uttered with a frown, not in a hurry to agree. Instead, she asked, "Who is Gregoria Elderwatch to you?"
"That would be my great-grandfather, my Lady," Perrin answered with his head lowered, still kneeling on one knee subserviently.
"Great-grandfather…" Astoria softly sighed at the passing generations.
She had almost forgotten that the witches and people outside the seven witch kingdoms lived completely different lives.
Three hundred years have passed since she left the Holy Knight Empire; many witches were still struggling to produce a single offspring during this time. And yet, upon her return, she had already met someone from the fourth generation of the Elderwatch family.
Astoria was once again reminded of the fleeting lives of ordinary humans.
Even the most accomplished aura user might not necessarily live past three hundred years. In comparison, the least talented witch could easily live past this threshold.
As for her, Astoria vaguely sensed living one or two thousand years wouldn't be a problem with her present rank.
"I will see your grandfather. I would also like to visit your great-grandfather's grave and pay my respects to him," Astoria agreed after another soft sigh.
Gregorio Elderwatch was her father's most trusted confidante and friend; he was also like an uncle to her.
She missed the life in her memory, but unfortunately, she couldn't rewind time to the past.
"That's great! But—"
"But before that, Queen Henrietta of the Black Rose Kingdom would like to meet Vaan… um, the Sun God…" Astoria interrupted Perrin before he could finish speaking. "Ahem, where is he now?"
"The Sun God? His Divinity was in the imperial library but mysteriously disappeared after that. No one in the palace knows where the Sun God went, but neither do we have the right to ask," Perrin replied truthfully.
"Is that so? I understand," Astoria calmly said after a moment of pause.
During that brief pause, a Rank 5 dragon had telepathically informed her of Vaan's whereabouts as it hid in the cloudy skies and watched over the empire's holy city.
Shortly after Astoria relayed the information to Henrietta, the latter suggested, "I'll be fine heading back to look for Vaan on my own, Astoria. I promise there won't be any conflict between us, so why don't you stay here to finish your business first and meet up with us later?"
"It seems to be something important and closely related to you," Henrietta added.
"…Alright," Astoria nodded after some thought.
As Henrietta said, Perrin and Wilbert seemed to know some important information about her Golden Dragon Bloodline – something she was curious and eager to learn about.
"Then, it's decided," Henrietta said.
Moments after they said their goodbyes, the two went separate ways.
Henrietta flew out of the palace on her own but ended up receiving a quick lift back to her kingdom from the Rank 5 dragon hidden in the sky.
Meanwhile, Astoria followed Perrin to the Imperial Legion's barrack, which was a short walk down the western main road from the imperial palace's front gates.
Although it was a short walk past the imperial palace's area, the Imperial Legion's barrack was enormous—at least four times the land coverage of the palace grounds.
Furthermore, the gate, walls, and residential buildings within weren't skimped during their construction stage in the least; they used the finest construction materials—the same ones that built the imperial palace, glistening in reinforced marbles and sturdy alloys.
From a short glance outside, the Imperial Legion's barrack did not look like the military barrack of the most powerful legion in the empire at all.
Rather, it appeared closer to an immensely wealthy household's estate that occupied an entire city district, which by the way, wasn't far from the truth.
The Elderwatch family owned the entire property; land, buildings, and all.
Astoria had mixed feelings when she stared at the sturdy front gate made of reinforced black steel, which served zero protection from trespassers.
Any trained aura user could jump its walls if they wanted to—but whether they dared to was another story.
The Elderwatch family had always been a close supporter of the Braveheart imperial family. But even though the Braveheart family declined, the Elderwatch family did not; they retained their glory and even prospered.
"Right, my Lady… There was something I wanted to correct earlier. My great-grandfather doesn't have a grave for you to visit; he hasn't passed away yet," Perrin mentioned softly and sneakily as if he didn't want it to be heard by anyone else.
"What?" Astoria uttered with surprise.
Gregorio Elderwatch was already in his late forties when she left the Holy Knight Empire. Given the passage of time, the person would be nearing three hundred and fifty years of age!
It was the first time Astoria heard of a man living to such an age!
Aura Kings had a chance to live to such an age, but Gregorio Elderwatch couldn't be one; he wasn't a witch descendant and lacked the basic quality to cultivate aura.
Unless Gregorio Elderwatch consumed some heavenly medicine to extend his lifespan, Astoria couldn't think of any other possibilities—not because they didn't exist, but because they were too low for her to consider them.
"Are you serious?" Astoria asked.
"Yes, my Lady," Perrin confirmed before saying, "However, if you want to see my great-grandfather, you have to receive my grandfather's permission first. Otherwise, I can only disappoint you."
Perrin looked like he really wanted to accede to all of Astoria's requests, as she was the "truest heir."
However, he couldn't violate his family's rules.
That said, there was no reason for his grandfather, Wilbert Elderwatch, to refuse the truest heir from meeting his great-grandfather, Gregorio.
Shortly after Astoria and Perrin set foot into the barrack, Wilbert was notified of the visit, and they held their meeting at the reception hall.
On the way, Astoria was baffled by the soldiers' mixed reactions.
Some members of the Imperial Legion revealed intense and exaggerated reactions when she leaked her golden dragon aura, like Perrin.
Others showed little-to-no reaction.
By the time Astoria reached the reception hall, she understood only the Elderwatch family's direct members with real blood ties exhibited strong reactions to her golden dragon aura.
Outsiders weren't affected by it, nor did they recognize it.
'The Elderwatch family also possessed some relation to the Golden Dragon Bloodline,' Astoria concluded.
Still, she didn't understand why Perrin needed to be secretive about it.
Fortunately, Perrin had promised to provide the answers she sought once they met up with Wilbert Elderwatch in the reception hall.
…
As Perrin escorted Astoria inside the reception hall, she immediately noticed a single old man clad in knightly armor waiting within.
There were no attendants to serve the drinks and snacks; they had all been dismissed.
Nevertheless, once the door was shut on their way in, Wilbert immediately dropped down onto one knee and saluted Astoria with utmost respect and devotion.
"This old subordinate greets the Chieftess!"
Astoria: "..."
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