The moment Aubrey finished speaking, Liya covered her mouth in shock.
Her eyes widened as she looked around.
But she found that neither Cocotte nor Vinia showed any surprise.
The trembling red light shone on Aubrey's bent figure, making him look even more worn by age.
"B-But..."
Liya recalled what Viktor had once told her.
The Emperor should still have only two years left.
Even now, shouldn't there still be about a year and a half remaining?
She looked up at Aurelian, hoping to find some answers from her.
But she realized Aurelian wasn't very shocked either.
She simply lowered her head without saying a word. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her eyes held a trace of reluctance.
As if she had known about this for a long time, she remained unusually calm.
Liya fell silent.
Then she heard Aubrey, sitting across from her with his cane in hand, speak kindly, "I know what you want to say."
"In truth, two years was only the most conservative estimate."
Now, Aubrey could clearly feel his body growing worse day by day.
He needed a long period of rest to ensure that he could remain alive until Aurelian ascended the throne.
That way, if any major crisis arose within the Empire, he could at least wake up during that period.
And remove the final obstacles standing before the Empire.
Of course, the best outcome would be for him to fall asleep and never wake again.
Until the very moment his lifespan ended, the Empire would remain free of worries.
But that would be difficult.
Or rather, the possibility was simply too small.
"The Empire is no longer what it was when I first took the throne."
During Aubrey's decades of rule, the Empire had maintained peace and stability.
That was because of Aubrey's overwhelming personal strength. No one dared challenge his rule.
And now, his life was nearing its end.
Even before his departure, undercurrents had already begun appearing throughout the Empire.
Different factions had formed and were fighting one another.
Meanwhile, forces from outside the Empire were also eyeing this sacred land.
Therefore...
"The only thing I can do is make my daughter, Aurelian, the Ninth Emperor of the Empire."
After speaking, Aubrey slightly turned his head to the side.
His aged face appeared red under the glow of the furnace fire.
His cloudy yet loving gaze fell upon the sorrowful Aurelian.
Silver-white hope flickered in his eyes.
———
The evening breeze drifted gently by.
Night had fallen, and scattered stars sparkled across the sky.
White clouds had been stained with faint traces of darkness by the night, slowly flowing overhead and stretching into long trails.
Aurelian escorted Liya and the others toward the palace exit.
After that, they had discussed many matters with Father Emperor, though most of it concerned the establishment of relations between the Empire and the Elven Forest.
The main focus was trade.
The conversation between Father Emperor and the Elven Queen covered many important points.
But Aurelian had not listened to any of it.
Her mind was a complete mess.
So chaotic that even the cool evening breeze could not calm her restless heart.
The entire way, Aurelian barely spoke.
Only after the four of them silently walked out of the palace did Liya and Vinia arrive beside the carriage.
A gold emblem was engraved on the carriage.
It was the crest of the Clavenna family.
Aurelian raised her head and looked at Cocotte, who sat upon a cloud, her eyes full of conflict.
Her lips trembled slightly.
In the end, she could not hold back her question, "Councilor Yard."
"Does my father really not have much time left?"
Sitting cross-legged atop the cloud, Cocotte exchanged a glance with Vinia, who stood beside Liya.
She hesitated slightly before finally nodding helplessly.
That was why they had not been surprised when Aubrey said he did not have much time left.
As elves, they possessed the ability to perceive the essence of life.
Aubrey's vitality was still vigorous, just as it had been in his youth.
Because of that, his former strength had remained with him until now.
But as a human, maintaining such a powerful body came with a heavy price.
The limits of a human lifespan were a fate he could not escape.
Even if Aurelian was a necromancer, she could do nothing about it.
The end of one's lifespan was nature's limit.
At least for now, no magic could reverse that law.
Yet Aurelian still refused to give up.
She continued, "But that Dewdrop..."
She had heard that during today's court session, the elves had brought out an extremely rare Elven Dewdrop.
It was said that only two drops were produced each year.
Most importantly, that legendary Dewdrop was rumored to possess miraculous life-extending effects.
'If it could be used on Father...'
However, Liya mercilessly shattered her hopes with a single sentence, "That was only something we told other people."
The so-called Dewdrop from the Elven Forest was actually just dew that elves drank every day.
If humans consumed it regularly, it could indeed improve their physical condition somewhat.
But miraculous life-extending effects were obviously impossible.
Not to mention that Aubrey's condition was already like a candle flickering in the wind, beyond saving.
Hearing Liya's words, Aurelian felt even heavier.
Liya looked at her and sighed helplessly.
"If you think about what happened today, you'll understand."
Liya had seen everything clearly in the palace today.
All the ministers realized that Aubrey's life was nearing its end.
They were eager to support the Empire's next ruler to protect their own positions and possibly gain even more power.
The return of the Lesser family and the nobles' urgency were both clear signs of dissatisfaction with Aubrey naming Aurelian as his successor.
Under pressure from both sides, and in order to stabilize the Emperor's rule during his final years, the Clavenna family had no choice but to reveal the elves' trump card.
Only by making the nobles understand how rare the Elven Dewdrop supposedly was could they make them believe it.
Believe that the Dewdrop could extend one's lifespan.
After all, none of them had ever been to the Elven Forest. The elves could say whatever they wanted.
Everything that happened in the palace hall... the elves' arrival, the dew within the leaves, all of it had merely been a show.
This so-called "life-extending" Dewdrop was only meant to temporarily maintain Aubrey's influence.
To make the nobles understand one thing, even if he was about to step down, this invincible Emperor was not dead yet.
By now, Aurelian's mood had sunk even further.
In truth, she understood all of this.
But she could not accept it.
Not long ago, she had personally experienced the pain of losing family.
Although she had never met her mother, the memories before her mother's grave at her grandfather's house and the pain of parting still lingered in her heart.
Now, her father was about to leave her as well.
Actually, she had realized this issue from the very beginning.
Back when Father Emperor had decided to make Viktor her magic teacher.
At that time, Aurelian had not experienced much of life and was still immature.
She had never truly realized that her family would one day leave her.
Or perhaps she simply did not want to think about it.
Holding the blue crystal pendant against her chest, Aurelian closed her eyes and felt the cool evening breeze brush across her face.
Finally, she took a deep breath.
"...I understand."
"I want to see Teacher."
In truth, Aurelian had been looking forward to her teacher's appearance today.
But that hope had ultimately been disappointed.
Because Viktor never came.
Liya placed her hands on her waist and sighed helplessly.
"He hasn't come home since yesterday, and today he didn't even show up."
"When he comes back, I'll tell him to come see you."
After saying that, Liya turned and opened the carriage door.
Vinia boarded together with her.
The carriage door closed.
Just before leaving, Liya poked her head out through the window.
Looking at the disappointed Aurelian, she comforted her, "Your Highness, it's cold outside. Go back and rest early."
After speaking, she lowered the curtain again.
Sitting atop her cloud, Cocotte looked at the silent and heartbroken Aurelian and could only sigh helplessly.
"I'm an elf. I can't understand the feelings of you humans."
"But there's one phrase that works everywhere. I think I can give it to you."
As she said this, Cocotte straightened her back slightly.
Looking at Aurelian's tear-filled eyes, she spoke solemnly, "Become stronger."
"Make every voice that doubts you pretend to be deaf."
Aubrey's unmatched strength had kept anyone in the Empire from questioning his rule for decades.
It was precisely because he possessed absolute power that those self-righteous humans obediently kept their mouths shut.
If she wanted to intimidate the entire Empire, then all she had to do was become stronger than Aubrey.
After saying this, Cocotte patted the cloud beneath her and flew onto the roof of the carriage.
"Let's go."
A servant raised the reins and urged the horses forward.
The wheels rumbled over the road as the carriage traveled into the distance.
Only Aurelian remained standing where she was.
The evening breeze casually stirred her silver hair.
One hand rested on her chest.
She felt the sound of her heart beating.
Heavy, like a massive furnace.
Dull, solemn, and dangerous.
Like rolling thunder.
———
[Royal Capital, Delin Manor]
Knights in gleaming armor were stationed throughout the courtyard.
The family crest, formed by two crossed swords, displayed authority and nobility upon the walls.
The entire courtyard was immersed in silence.
Only the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze disturbed the quiet.
Yet the knights remained on high alert.
In contrast, the training ground inside the manor was anything but quiet.
As usual, Gwen swung her sword.
Every slash tore a long wave of air through the atmosphere.
The ringing of sword strikes echoed constantly in her ears.
Though it was already deep into the night, Gwen was still drenched in sweat, her arms aching.
She repeated the same movements over and over, pursuing perfection with every strike.
At that moment, a figure with purple hair appeared on the training ground.
Against the night, she looked exceptionally mysterious.
A strange expression that was difficult to notice rested on Kefra's face as she slowly and lightly walked toward Gwen.
"Gwen, stop for a moment. Don't train anymore."
Seeing Kefra, Gwen expressionlessly sheathed her sword.
She did not even wipe away the sweat covering her forehead.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
Kefra coughed lightly, as though organizing her thoughts.
"Uh, well..."
She hesitated before continuing, "Viktor is at the gate."
The moment she heard the name "Viktor," Gwen instinctively leaned forward.
As though she were about to rush toward the entrance the next second.
But before she could move, Kefra stopped her with another sentence, "Wait. Don't be in such a hurry."
"Viktor asked me to pass a message to you first."
Gwen stopped.
Though anxious, she quietly looked at Kefra and waited for what came next.
Kefra seemed to be struggling to find the right words.
After a long pause, she finally twitched her lips and awkwardly said to Gwen, "It's like this..."
"Viktor wants me to tell you..."
"Sorry."