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Chapter 627.1: Forces Combined (1)

In Noyce Fortress’ highest tower, Lilian looked at the full moon outside her window with contemplative eyes, while her maid, Audrey, browsed through the intelligence reports behind her.

Tonight seemed no different from the others, but Audrey found it weirdly hard to concentrate on the intelligence reports in her hands. Her eyes would occasionally flicker between her liege and the clock on the table, and there was a look of dilemma on her face.

Most people wouldn’t have been able to sense anything different about Lilian, but Audrey knew her liege better than anyone else, which was why she was worried.

For the past two years, Lilian had been able to freely move around due to a spell temporarily halting the growth of her child, but in recent days, it had come to Audrey’s notice that the spell might have been slowly wearing off.

Her deduction was based on Lilian’s appetite.

For the longest time, Lilian had suffered from a horrible morning sickness that made it difficult for her to eat anything, but she overcame it through sheer willpower and maternal love. Even so, her appetite was hardly good at all.

Eating had been both a mission and a torture to her.

Yet, in recent days, her reluctance to eat suddenly vanished, and her appetite greatly improved. The disappearance of her morning sickness was no miracle; it could only mean that the child in her womb had started developing.

That naturally caught Audrey’s attention, and it greatly worried her. It was terrible timing.

Lilian had been building up her forces in the past two years, and with the recent political changes in the Austine Empire and their imminent operation to rescue Paul Ackermann, it was finally time for her to mobilize her forces. It was no exaggeration to say that they were on the brink of an internal war, and this was a time when Lilian’s strength was needed more than ever.

Having her child develop at this juncture was equivalent to Lilian being shackled down, which didn’t bode well given the circumstances.

There were so many things Audrey wanted to say about this matter, but she found herself at a loss for words when she was met with Lilian’s calm expression.

Little did she know that Lilian was not as composed as she looked.

Lilian knew about her body’s changes better than anyone else. In fact, she had a premonition about the resumption of her child’s development before it even happened.

A month ago, a girl who was suspected to be Roel and her daughter appeared before her and advised her to go all-out for the Battle of Scorched Earth. That changed her initial decision, and thanks to that, they successfully saved Roel in the very end.

Since then, she had a feeling that something was about to happen.

Temporal spells were one of the few research fields humankind hadn\'t made much progress in. All spells had a chance of failure, and this rang especially true for something as elusive as temporal spells.

Nevertheless, the situation still proved to be tricky even though Lilian was prepared for it.

“Your Highness, are you not going to rest? It’s getting late.”

“I don’t feel like resting yet. You may continue organizing the reports. Pay no heed to me.”

“I am done organizing the reports.”

“…I see.” Caught off guard by how much time had passed, Lilian turned to look at Audrey in surprise, only to spot the latter’s hesitant face. “I don’t intend to rest yet. Feel free to speak your mind.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I discovered issues from the reports I organized earlier, and I’ll state my conclusion first.” Audrey’s expression turned serious after she received Lilian’s permission to speak. “It’ll be impossible to save His Highness Paul without stirring a conflict.”

“…” Lilian fell silent.

Audrey went on to share the reasons leading to her conclusion.

Paul Ackermann was currently residing in the inner city’s secondary palace, Emperor Lukas’ private property. This was usually a privilege exclusive to the princes of the main lineage; an illegitimate son like Paul should have never enjoyed such treatment.

Yet, for reasons unbeknownst to the others, Emperor Lukas insisted on having Paul Ackermann accompany him to his secondary palace.

The security of the secondary palace was extremely tight, with personnel mainly comprising imperial guards. It would be almost impossible to slip a spy in. Their only hope of rescuing Paul from the secondary palace was to resort to forceful measures, or in other words, launch an attack on the secondary palace.

Attacking the secondary palace while Emperor Lukas was residing there would be a challenge to his authority, so it was bound to have severe repercussions. That was also what Audrey had been worried about.

There were plenty of rumors about how strong Emperor Lukas was, but it was certain that he was at least an Origin Level 1 transcendent. In contrast, Lilian was still at Origin Level 2, as she had refrained from making a breakthrough out of worry for her child.

Lilian was at a disadvantage in terms of individual strength, and it didn’t help that her child had started growing at this juncture. She was bound to be distracted by the safety of her child if she engaged Emperor Lukas in a battle, especially given how fond she was of her child.

In the end, Audrey decided to state her point of view despite knowing she was overstepping her boundaries. She took a moment to deliberate on her words before saying, “Your Highness, the intelligence we have gathered shows that an operation to rescue His Highness Paul is too risky. It could culminate in a full-blown war.

“Furthermore, it’s unlikely that any danger will befall His Highness Paul for the time being even though he’s being incarcerated there. In contrast, if we make a move now, we’d turn His Majesty hostile. The chances of us winning against His Majesty are too slim without the backing of an Origin Level 1 transcendent. You might even fall into danger. The cons outweigh the pros!”

“…” Lilian didn’t respond to Audrey’s logical analysis.

She couldn’t even refute those words, as she agreed with them.

It was still too early for her to fracture her ties with Emperor Lukas, especially when she wasn’t in the best condition at the moment. She should have been biding her time and resting up till her delivery, and she would have done so if not for the girl’s words.

You mustn’t let Paul die, or else our father…

Her daughter had paid a heavy price to invoke a temporal spell to relay that message to her.

It wasn’t just once or twice that she had heard weird noises in the past few days. A high transcendent like her wouldn’t suffer from auditory hallucination, so the only explanation was that her future daughter was still trying her best to contact her.

Contacting Lilian through a temporal spell was bound to take a heavy toll on the girl, but that didn’t deter her attempts. This showed that this matter must have been of great importance.

Lilian had no idea what kind of repercussions Paul’s death had, but she dared not to gamble on it after the precedent at the Battle of Scorched Earth.

“This matter isn’t just about Paul. Other factors are at stake too. We’ll carry on with our plan,” Lilian said after a long bout of silence.

Audrey was unable to conceal the skepticism in her eyes, but after some hesitation, she chose not to pursue the matter. Having known Lilian for many years, she knew that the latter wouldn’t easily change her mind.

However, the obstacles in their way still needed to be addressed.

“Nevertheless, it’s highly improbable that we’ll be able to rescue His Highness Paul right under His Majesty’s nose…” Audrey raised the biggest question about their operation.

“…” Lilian looked at the dim plain outside the window as she stroked her belly. “I’ll make a breakthrough to Origin Level 1.”

“But, Your Highness… What about your child?”

“I have refrained from advancing to Origin Level 1 to avoid disturbing the temporal spell I have placed on my child, but now that the temporal spell has lost its effectiveness, there’s no need for me to suppress my growth anymore. Besides… I can sense that she isn’t that weak.”

“…”

Audrey opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say. In the end, she could only let out a helpless sigh.

Advancing to Origin Level 1 was their only solution at the moment, but no one in their right mind would make this critical breakthrough while they were pregnant. The level of difficulty was much higher, and failure came with severe consequences.

“Your Highness…”

“I’ll be fine, be it for myself or the rest of you,” Lilian reassured her maid with a gentle tone.

She looked at the moonlit sky as she mustered her determination.

…