Chapter 10: Give Up Hope
Emperor Lande smiled and said to Delia, "Delia, I haven't seen you for a while. Now that you're back from the O'Brien Empire, won't you come visit the imperial palace?" Emperor Lande was about the same age as Delia, and their relationship was quite good.
"My teacher is very strict; I have to seriously practice magic," Delia said, feigning helplessness.
Emperor Lande laughed.
Just then, the Earth Bear 'Hatten' spoke to Emperor Lande, "Hey, you with the blue hair, my master wants you to come in." The Earth Bear's words were not polite at all, but Emperor Lande didn't mind in the slightest. "Ah Huang, even if you won't address me as 'Your Majesty,' you could at least call me Lande. That way, I'd still have a little face."
"Is 'Ah Huang' something you can call me?" The Earth Bear turned its furry head away, looking quite disdainful.
Emperor Lande chuckled, greeted George and Delia, and then walked into the house. At this moment, only George and Delia were left in the courtyard. Delia had a very good impression of George... because he was Linley's good brother.
The second brother, 'George,' was probably the calmest and most stable of Linley's four brothers.
He had the best temper, rarely lost his temper with anyone, and was extremely popular.
But Delia knew that George was also a formidable figure. Becoming a minister of the Yulan Pavilion at such a young age—one had to understand the darkness of officialdom. To thrive in the political arena and even secure the position of Yulan Pavilion minister, George had used plenty of underhanded methods behind the scenes.
Among the four brothers, when it came to ruthlessness, it was this best-tempered George who was the most vicious.
"George, have a seat," Delia said with a smile.
George also sat down with a smile. "Delia, when you went to the O'Brien Empire last year, you must have seen the third brother, right? Oh, the third brother is Linley." George had always been concerned about his good brother. But holding a high position in the Yulan Empire, he had never had the chance to go to the O'Brien Empire.
"I know," Delia said with a bright smile. "Linley has been thinking about you too."
George felt a warmth in his heart.
It had been ten years since he parted ways with Linley. Now George was twenty-nine, about to step into the threshold of thirty. He already had two children. The youthful recklessness of their teenage years now seemed like the most beautiful memory.
In his ten years in officialdom, George had experienced deceit and intrigue, growing more mature with each passing day. But the more mature he became, the fewer friends he truly trusted in the Yulan Empire.
"The third brother has reached this level; I'm proud of him," George said with a sigh. "In the O'Brien Empire, I doubt anyone dares to provoke him. In this world, reaching the pinnacle of strength is the greatest assurance."
"Linley has already gone to the Chaos Territory," Delia said.
"The Chaos Territory?"
George frowned. He remembered that Hess City knew about the conflict between Linley and the Radiant Church. As a high-ranking figure in the Yulan Empire, George was also aware of the Radiant Church's and the Dark Church's influence in the Chaos Territory. "The third brother's personality—he wouldn't go around expanding territory or anything like that. So..."
George looked at Delia and lowered his voice. "Is the third brother going to fight the Radiant Church?"
Delia was startled inwardly. George was indeed sharp.
"Yes," Delia nodded. Linley had already discussed this with her.
George felt a bit worried. He knew Linley's temper. Back then, Linley had been reckless in his pursuit of revenge. If it were him, George, he would absolutely endure, holding back until his strength reached a point where he had a hundred percent certainty before making a move.
"Does the third brother have a plan?" George looked at Delia. "The Radiant Church isn't as simple as it appears on the surface."
Delia smiled at George. "George, Linley isn't as simple as you think either."
George laughed. Indeed, even though Linley was a genius, when they parted ways, George never imagined that Linley would become so powerful, rivaling Hodson. Especially that Shadow Mouse 'Bebe'—George was puzzled. "That little guy Bebe, how did he become so freakishly strong? What a monster."
...
After a long while, Emperor Lande came out.
"George, let's go," Emperor Lande said to George. George immediately stood up. Emperor Lande smiled at Delia, who had also risen to see them off. "Delia, if you have time, come visit the palace. The Third Princess has been wanting to see you."
Delia smiled. "I will, someday."
"You don't need to see us out," Emperor Lande said with a faint smile, then left with George.
---
In the imperial palace, in Emperor Lande's study, there were only three people: Emperor Lande, his personal palace attendant, and the patriarch of the Ryan family.
"Deia," Emperor Lande put down his pen and looked up at Deia Ryan with a smile. "I called you here today to talk about your daughter, Delia."
Deia Ryan looked at Emperor Lande. "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Emperor Lande smiled slightly. "I recall that your daughter isn't married yet."
"Yes," Deia Ryan nodded.
Could it be that Emperor Lande had taken a liking to his own daughter?
Emperor Lande nodded. "That's right. To be honest... I've always liked Delia. So, help me talk to Delia and see if she's willing to marry me. Of course... you must follow her own wishes."
Deia Ryan said respectfully, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely ask Delia."
Emperor Lande nodded and smiled at Deia Ryan. "Deia, you should understand that when I was still a prince, I had to produce an heir to be eligible for the throne. That woman, I have no feelings for. Delia surpasses her in both birth and personal qualities. If Delia marries me... I promise she can become the Empress."
Deia Ryan's heart trembled.
Empress?
If his daughter were to become an ordinary imperial consort, with the strength of the Ryan family, there would be no need for that. But the Empress was different.
Deia Ryan knew very well that Emperor Lande was a very capable and decisive emperor. If he said Delia would become the Empress, he would absolutely make it happen.
"Alright, you may withdraw," Emperor Lande said with a faint smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Deia Ryan's heart was still in turmoil.
---
Today, Deia Ryan sent someone to summon Delia home. Delia actually didn't like going home, because every time she did, her parents would try to persuade her about marriage. Although Delia had said that Linley was independent of the O'Brien Empire and that marrying him wouldn't affect the family, her parents didn't seem to like Linley very much.
In Deia's eyes, after all, Linley's younger brother had married the Seventh Princess 'Nina,' tying Linley inextricably to the O'Brien Empire.
"What?" Delia shot to her feet, staring at her parents in shock.
Her mother quickly said, "Delia, His Majesty is about your age, and he's one of the few capable and decisive emperors in our empire's history. You have a good relationship with him, don't you? Marrying His Majesty... would benefit both you and the family."
"Benefit the family? What benefit is there for me?" Delia couldn't hold back her anger this time.
She hadn't expected that her parents' urgent summons was for this.
"Delia, isn't His Majesty good enough? Do you hate him?"
Delia said angrily, "Father, what does His Majesty's excellence have to do with me? Yes, I don't hate him. But... there are plenty of people I don't hate. Should I marry everyone I don't hate? Marrying someone isn't about whether you hate them or not, do you understand?"
"Delia, His Majesty is sincere about you. He said that if you marry him, you can become the Empress of the empire," Deia said quickly.
"And what about the current Empress?" Delia frowned.
Deia Ryan said with a faint smile, "That Empress is just a woman he married when he was still a prince. She has no real ability, and her background is only from a minor noble family. Many people have already been gossiping and expressing dissatisfaction behind her back about her being Empress. It would be easy for His Majesty to depose her."
"Hmph."
Delia stood up, looking at her father. "Father, the position of Empress might be very important to you, but to me, it's worth nothing." In her anger, Delia even cursed.
Deia Ryan slammed the table in anger and stood up. "Delia, how dare you speak like that?"
"Father," Delia stared at her father, "Don't throw your weight around in front of your daughter. I'll make this clear to you today... Give up hope on this matter of His Majesty. Even if I die, I won't marry him, nor will I marry anyone other than Linley."
Deia Ryan looked at his daughter in disbelief. His daughter had actually spoken to him like this.
"I'm sorry, Father." Delia took a deep breath.
"Cough, cough..." The enraged Deia Ryan started coughing. Delia's mother immediately supported him, but Deia glared at Delia. "Delia, you're not young anymore. Stop being so childish and impulsive. Alright, go back and think it over."
Delia looked at her father, whose face was red from coughing. She remained silent, then turned and left.
...
"Where did the father and mother of the old days go?" Delia remembered how, when she was a child, her father and mother treated her like a treasure. Whatever she wanted, her father would do. She had even ridden on her father's back, pretending it was a horse.
Those childhood memories were so beautiful, her parents so perfect.
But now...
At home, Delia had too many attachments: her parents, her brother, her grandmother, and other relatives. Delia had always hoped that she could be with Linley while still maintaining the same good relationship with her family as before.
"Just wait a little longer. Once Linley establishes his dukedom, Father and the others will change their attitude." Delia chose to continue enduring.
---
In the mysterious mountain village, on the vast grassland in front of the cave mansion, Desri, Hayward, Miller, Bingselin, and others were sitting at a stone table, drinking wine and watching Linley and Higginson spar. As for Reno and Monnica, they were at the edge of the grassland.
"Monnica, is the mother you described to me back then real?" Reno looked at the distant Bingselin, then asked Monnica doubtfully.
Monnica was speechless.
In the past, her mother had been quite cold. After all... her mother came from the Temple of the Ice Goddess, and that kind of aloofness was innate. But these past few days, Bingselin had been extremely kind to Linley and Reno.
Reno was starting to wonder if Monnica's earlier descriptions were all fake.
"I don't know either," Monnica had nothing to say.
Just then, Linley held the Black Heavy Sword, and Higginson also held a blurry silver longsword as they sparred. Linley's 'Earth Essence' was truly unleashed. Although he wasn't using lethal force, it still amazed Higginson.
"Strange, strange," Higginson praised. "I've never seen such a strange attack."
Linley also looked helplessly at Higginson. Encountering a strong practitioner of the Light Laws was troublesome, because once they reached a certain level, their self-healing abilities were terrifying. Even if an arm was severed, it could be repaired in an extremely short time.
"Linley, now that we've reached this point, let me show you my special move," Higginson said with a smile.
Linley was stunned. This Higginson, with his terrifying speed—even faster than Oliver—and his astonishing attack power, had only been playing around until now.
"This sword is called the 'Phantom Void Sword,'" Higginson said, holding the silver longsword. His entire body suddenly turned into a white beam of light, reaching Linley in the blink of an eye. Linley's body was wreathed in cyan-black air currents, and he held the Black Heavy Sword cautiously.
Linley carefully watched that sword.
What was the Phantom Void Sword?
"Wooom~~" The surrounding space actually rippled like waves, and the silver longsword appeared clearly in Linley's vision. But what felt strange to Linley was that the silver sword seemed to produce afterimages in an instant, and the space itself seemed to overlap, as if it had become chaotic.
"You lose."
Before Linley could react, the sword was already stopped right in front of his eyes. Linley had no chance to resist or block.
"This..." Linley's mind was completely filled with that one sword strike. He felt as if he had grasped something. He immediately descended to the grass, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes, ignoring everyone else as he began to search for that flash of inspiration.