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Chapter 518: Half a Year More

After finishing her food with much difficulty, Lilian turned her attention toward the affairs that had been worrying her recently.

The deviants’ aggression had lowered with the onset of winter, lessening the pressure on humankind’s defense line. Many military commanders made use of this opportunity to return home and visit their family members.

Over the past year, the Theocracy’s newly-rebuilt Tark Stronghold had scaled up considerably. Its current chief commander was Nora Xeclyde, and she was aided by Vice Chief Commander Carter Ascart.

The initial plan was for Nora to assume the role of the vice chief commander and accrue war experience beside Carter. However, the Theocracy was in dire need of a spiritual leader after the tragic loss they suffered from Tark Stronghold’s disappearance.

In order to reassure the people, Nora had to step up as the leader of the Theocracy’s army on the eastern border as a symbolic gesture, and Carter became her aide. Neither the soldiers nor the civilians objected to that. It also reflected the Theocracy’s determination to stand at the forefront of the Holy War.

The brief respite brought by the winter was an opportunity for Carter to return to the Theocracy. Given the close ties between the Xeclydes and the Ascarts, there was no reason for Nora not to approve his request.

If Carter returned to the Theocracy, he would definitely drop by the Ascart House to take a look. The united army of humankind would be launching a decisive offensive against the deviants in the following spring, so this could be his only chance to return home.

There, he ought to meet Roel, who was on break from Saint Freya Academy.

Having come to this conclusion, Lilian turned to Audrey and waited for the latter’s report.

“Your Highness, the Ascart Marquess will be returning to the Saint Mesit Theocracy in a few days’ time,” Audrey respectfully reported the results of her investigation.

Despite the head maid’s calm demeanor, a storm was raging in her heart.

She was initially oblivious to the identity of the man whom Lilian was willing to bear a child for, but the months they had spent together clued her in on the matter. In her eyes, the most likely suspect was the son of the Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Ascart Marquess, Roel Ascart.

Lilian got pregnant around half a year ago, shortly before she arrived at the eastern border. During that period of time, she was on an investigation mission together with Brolne’s scholars. There were no official records of Roel Ascart’s involvement in that matter, but there was still a possibility that he had secretly followed the investigation team.

This left Audrey even more distressed.

Lilian’s child could have been helpful to her political career if her partner were one of Austine’s high nobles, but of all candidates, it turned out to be a noble from the Saint Mesit Theocracy! Should the others ever learn of the matter, the people’s support for Lilian would plummet.

They could only take one step at a time and pray that they could keep everything under wraps. With such thoughts in mind, Audrey lowered her head and awaited Lilian’s order.

On the other hand, Lilian fell into a dilemma.

Of the important things an expecting woman had to do, informing the father about the child definitely ranked near the top. Yet, this natural course of action was extremely difficult for her.

The two of them had completely severed communications after parting ways half a year ago. The only way she could think of to reach out to him was through a letter to the academy or the Ascart House, but such a measure was no different from committing suicide for her, since she hadn’t been completely cleared of suspicion yet.

She couldn’t risk the slightest chance of her pregnancy getting out, which meant that it would be unwise of her to leave any physical evidence of the matter around. Her only choice was to find someone trustworthy to relay the matter to Roel, and there were only two people she could think of that fitted the bill.

One of them was Secret Agent Paul Ackermann.

As the illegitimate son of the Austine Empire, it wouldn’t have been too out of place for Paul Ackermann to visit Lilian on the frontlines. It also wouldn’t have appeared suspicious for him to meet Roel in the academy afterward, considering that he was a member of the Bluerose Faction. It would have been impossible for anyone to fault him for his actions.

It was a pity that this route had been cut off.

According to Lilian’s sources in the capital, Emperor Lukas had no intention of allowing Paul to join the frontlines. It was the same for First Prince Lucius and Second Prince Aubrey, who came to a surprising consensus after hearing about Paul’s outstanding performance in the Challenger Cup. The two wastrels were worried that the illegitimate son might accrue merit on the frontlines, which would have given him a shot at the throne.

In any case, this meant that it was impossible for Lilian to come into contact with Paul.

As for the second person, it was none other than Roel’s father, Carter Ascart.

The Ascart House was so lacking in offspring that there were only two people left in their clan, putting them on the verge of extinction. To make things worse, there were powerful evil cultists who were out for Roel’s life.

Given their dreadful circumstances, Carter was bound to be anxious about expanding the family tree so as to ensure that their lineage wouldn’t die out.

For that reason, Lilian wasn’t afraid to divulge her pregnancy to Carter even though her child was illegitimate.

She wasn’t worried about Carter not believing her words, either. As the imperial princess of the Austine Empire, it was taboo for her to get into a relationship with Roel. Lying about having Roel’s child would have brought her nothing but danger.

She believed that Carter would find a way to relay the news to Roel once he learned that she was expecting his child. Perhaps he would even offer her protection during critical moments.

The only problem here was that coming into contact with Carter was risky for her, even if they were meeting under the pretext of an official military discussion.

Lilian carefully considered this matter, and her gleaming amethyst eyes finally quietened down. Her final verdict was to prioritize stability and not meet with Carter.

That being said, she hadn’t given up on delivering the news of her pregnancy to Roel yet. Instead, she thought of another possible route she could exploit.

“Audrey, when is the third wave of reinforcements from Brolne coming in?”

“According to the report, it should be coming in another six months’ time.”

“…Another six months?” Lilian muttered under her breath with a lowered head.

She remembered Roel telling her that their teacher, Chris Wilde, had been a mentee of Roel’s father. It was during that time that she developed a crush on Carter that lasted to the present day. She even traveled all the way to the Ascart Fiefdom in order to catch up with Carter.

There was a high chance that Chris would join the third wave of reinforcements from Brolne in order to be together with her beloved one at Tark Stronghold. If so, Chris would definitely pay a visit to the protégé whom she was proud of, Lilian.

While most classrooms had hundreds of students, Chris’ Classroom was so small that Roel had been the only student accepted in his batch. This had allowed for much closer ties to be forged between the teacher and the student.

Considering that Lilian was the only student from Chris’ Classroom who was currently fighting on the frontlines of the eastern border, Chris was bound to drop by to see how she was faring.

That would be the opportunity Lilian was looking for. She would be able to contact Carter via Chris and eventually relay the message to Roel.

.

Having thought things through, Lilian caressed her womb as her expression slowly turned gentle.

She knew right from the start that having a child at this juncture was highly disadvantageous to her, but much to her surprise, she wasn’t averse to it at all. On the contrary, it filled her with a mysterious sensation that seemed to be a mixture of bewilderment, embarrassment, and joy.

The thought that a new life created by her and her lover was developing inside of her filled her heart with a profound feeling of satisfaction and bliss.

She had already developed feelings for her child even though it was still a fetus. She saw it as a precious gift from Goddess Sia, and she channeled her yearning for Roel toward it.

“Just wait a while more, my little treasure. Daddy will know about your existence soon.”

Lilian looked out of the window and murmured.

…

On the road to Rosa City, Roel worriedly waited for news from Antonio.

Several days had passed since he had received updates on the latest happenings in the world.

He didn’t send out any more letters, knowing that excessive information would only impede a person’s decision-making. On top of that, it took time for his letter to reach its destination, and the Austine Empire’s northern mountainous region was simply too far away.

All he could do at this point was to trust in the strength and experience Antonio had accrued over the centuries.

These days, Roel spent most of his time either at the office desk or in bed.

Due to Charlotte’s fervent wish to have a child, he was forced to work harder than ever, unleashing another three more ‘ten draws’ over the last few days. The high frequency of intense workouts was hard for even him to bear, let alone Charlotte.

On the guest room’s sofa, Roel watched as Charlotte slowly nodded off. He glanced at the clock and softly sighed. Despite her weak constitution, she had only slept for three hours last night and two hours the night before. It was no wonder why she was so exhausted.

“Charlotte. Charlotte…”

“Mm?”

“Are you tired? I’ll carry you back to your room.”

“I-I’m fine. I just wanted to close my eyes for a moment…”

Charlotte blinked her eyes drowsily before softly rejecting Roel’s offer. Roel fell into a dilemma seeing how she was putting on a strong front.

Had it been half a month ago, Charlotte would have surely listened to Roel’s words without any hesitation. It would have been a good opportunity for them to get closer to each other, after all. However, more and more urgent documents were being delivered to them as they approached Rosa, leaving her with no choice but to devote more time to her work.

Feeling worried for her, Roel wanted to persuade her into taking a rest, but before he could say his words out loud, she suddenly slumped on his shoulder.

“…”

Roel immediately quietened down.

He turned to Grace, who had begun walking over upon realizing that Charlotte had fallen asleep, and whispered his request.

“Pillow.”

“Understood, Lord Roel,” Grace replied with a bow.

The smiling maid left the room with quiet footsteps. Moments later, she returned with a fluffy pillow in hand.

Roel took the pillow and placed it on his lap before carefully moving Charlotte’s head on top of the pillow. With that, he successfully completed his own brand of lap pillow.

Some hardcore fans might exclaim that it was heresy, for a normal lap pillow ought to have involved nothing but a lap. However, as a transcendent, Roel’s thighs were still rather tough due to his muscles, making it hardly a comfortable choice for a pillow at all. He naturally had to prioritize Charlotte’s comfort here.

It appeared to have been the right choice.

There was relief in his eyes as he listened to her rhythmic breathing, though he felt a little distressed by her dedication.

Charlotte had listened to his advice and stopped frequently using magic tools to check if she was pregnant, and that did help her in taking things in her stride. However, as if to compensate for that, she started going at it harder than ever.

As long as I keep on drawing, there’ll eventually come a day when I’ll hit the jackpot!

That was probably what was going through Charlotte’s mind, at least in Roel’s opinion.

That was exactly the kind of mindset that ‘whales’ took to gacha games. To ensure a ‘steady supply of funds’ to continue drawing lots, Charlotte had employed all kinds of tactics that Roel could hardly fend off.

Roel would have never imagined just how frightening a top-notch fashion designer could be when she truly set her mind to it. All he could say was that he would never be able to see clothes in the same way ever again.

Just recalling what Charlotte had worn two nights ago was enough to make blood gush into his head. He was forced to immediately clear his mind and take two deep breaths lest he get too stimulated. Knowing that now wasn’t the time to get excited, he looked at the scenery outside the window and allowed himself to zone out.

The only sound that could be heard in this quiet room was Charlotte’s calm breathing.

Unfortunately, this moment of peace didn’t last for long.

Light knocks echoed on the door. It was Grace.

Roel gestured for Grace to remain quiet, and the latter nodded in acknowledgment. She walked over and respectfully passed an envelope over with both hands.

Roel’s complexion turned serious, knowing that the envelope contained the most recent update on the situation. He quickly checked the sender, and it made his heart skip a beat. It was a letter he had been awaiting for a long while now.

It was from Wandering Scholar Andrew Mara, containing the report of the battle with the Saints Convocation.