Chapter 47: Empty
“North Calendar Year 543, early winter.”
“It’s a cold winter, colder than any before.”
“The burning sensation in my chest is growing stronger. Erlya keeps urging me to remove this evil demonic rune.”
“Although I know the Empire has a way to completely eradicate the Demonic Rune power from my body after removing the curse.”
“But… for some reason, my heart tells me not to. If I lose this demonic rune, I’ll lose something very, very important, something I can’t remember.”
“Something that, once lost, can never be found again—”
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A series of crisp, even knocks came at the door.
Lilia looked up from her writing. “The door’s not locked, Erlya. Come in.”
She recognized the knock immediately. It belonged to Erlya, her maid since she had been a princess.
But Erlya was no longer a maid. She was now Lilia’s Knight Attendant.
The former “professional knight” had finally achieved her dream of becoming a true knight.
Of course, she was still no match for the other knights, in terms of both strength and tactical coordination.
So, although her official title was “Knight Attendant,” she still performed the duties of a maid, just in a knight’s battle skirt instead of a long dress.
Erlya entered.
The demonic corruption that had once scarred her face had been healed by the Vikarn technology, and now, her features were delicate, almost refined, a stark contrast to her former, intimidating demeanor.
“Is there something urgent?” Lilia asked, her voice soft, patient, as it always was with Erlya.
Although she was now the Empress of the North Empire, and had to maintain a certain regal demeanor in public, with Erlya, she was still the same gentle princess.
“An urgent message, Your Majesty. The High Priestess of the Bewildering Forest, no, Eleanor, and the former High Priestess Nimora are on their way to the capital. They will arrive soon,” Erlya said, placing a letter, woven from leaves and petals, on Lilia’s desk.
Lilia looked at it, her eyebrows raised. “This letter… if I’m not mistaken, these are branches from the ‘Tree of Rebirth’ and petals from the ‘Shoreline Mandala’ of the Bewildering Forest’s sacred lands, aren’t they?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Bewildering Forest has requested we handle it with care. It’s enchanted to preserve it. But if the enchantment is broken, the divine power within will dissipate quickly,” Erlya said, her voice low. “It’s even more precious than the World Tree branch they sent to your father. And this is just a calling card, not a formal gift.”
Lilia had seen her father’s World Tree branch. It had been intended to heal her, but then the demonic rune had suppressed her curse and the Demonic Rune power, so it hadn’t been necessary.
“It seems they’re very sincere… or rather, they’re very serious about their purpose here,” Lilia said, then asked, “Did they say anything else?”
“No, just that they would discuss it when they arrive,” Erlya shook her head. “But I think… it’s about the Abyssal Demon Realm.”
“Hmm?” At the mention of the Abyss, Lilia’s expression turned serious.
Any news from the Abyss, good or bad, was of vital importance to the Empire.
“There have been reports of unusual activity at the Abyssal seal line. It seems a powerful force is raging on the other side,” Erlya said, her voice low. “But it has subsided in the past few days. We don’t know what happened.”
Before the seal, the Empire had been able to send small, elite squads, like the “Sharp Assault” squad, into the Abyss to gather intelligence.
But now, with the seal in place, they were cut off, unable to gather any information, forced to rely on observations of the seal line.
The recent activity at the seal line corresponded with the Snow Maiden’s wandering in the Frigid Lands.
And after she had stopped, the activity had also ceased.
But the Empire didn’t know this. All they knew was that the seal was unstable, and they had to prepare for another invasion.
“Hmm… if that’s the case, then their seriousness is understandable. The Bewildering Forest has only just recovered from the last war. They wouldn’t want to be dragged into another one so soon,” Lilia nodded, picking up the letter and looking at the elegant elvish script.
As expected, it was just formal, official language, revealing nothing. It only said they would arrive in the capital in three days and requested an audience with her.
“It seems they also don’t want the news of the Abyss to spread…” Lilia put the letter down, a frown on her face. “But by the way, I remember… the new High Priestess, Eleanor, wasn’t she mentioned in the intelligence reports from the battle at the Wild God Altar?”
“Yes, it seems that battle was what prompted the former High Priestess Nimora to finally step down and pass on her title to Eleanor,” Erlya nodded.
The mention of the battle reminded Lilia of the “resurrected” Sharp Assault squad.
But it was a bittersweet memory. The only one who hadn’t “resurrected” was their commander, Xu Bai.
“Xu Bai…”
Both Lilia and Erlya had been… fans of his. The news of his “death” had been a mixture of excitement and disappointment.
“Oh well. We didn’t have much of a chance to interact with the Bewildering Forest during the last Imperial Festival. Since they’ve reached out, we should respond in kind,” Lilia said, shaking her head, pushing aside the distracting thoughts.
But… why, deep down, did she still feel a sense of… emptiness…?
