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Shortly after Emperor Renardier arrived outside the Queen Dowager\'s bedchamber, he waited for permission before he was granted entry.

Immediately, the scent of dandelions assaulted Emperor Renardier\'s nostrils as he laid eyes on the Queen Dowager\'s half-naked, lazy but voluptuous figure on the bed.

The Queen Dowager, Elsbeth Braveheart, was a Mid-stage High Witch who lived over three hundred and fifty years but retained the beauty of a young maiden. Like all Bravehearts, she had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion.

In her current defenseless posture, she could easily make any young man excited.

However, not a single hint of lust could be seen in Emperor Renardier\'s eyes as he walked into the bedchamber and glanced at her body.

"I have come to see you, mother," Emperor Renardier greeted, kneeling on one knee in front of Elsbeth\'s bed with his head lowered.

"…" Elsbeth sighed with a helpless but loving look before she said, "Renardier, you are the sovereign ruler of an entire empire; you kneel to no one. I\'ve told you many times, but you still won\'t listen to me on this, will you?"

"This is the one thing I won\'t agree on, mother. I might be an emperor to the people, but before that, I am a son to you. That fact won\'t change, not now, not ever," Emperor Renardier stated.

"Fine, fine. Enough of that," Elsbeth shook her before staring at her son more seriously. "Tell me why you are here today."

"I\'ve come to receive your blessing before I lead the empire to war with the Kingdom of Black Rose, mother. An opportunity has come for our empire to gain access to Gehenna\'s resources," Emperor Renardier stated.

As soon as Elsbeth heard that, she immediately sat up with a grave look and asked her son to repeat what he said. Then, after she confirmed she had heard correctly, she frowned in deep thought.

"Of the seven witch kingdoms, it just has to be the Kingdom of Black Rose, huh? You can\'t pick another kingdom to fight?" Elsbeth asked.

"No, it has to be the Kingdom of Black Rose. If our empire targets any other witch kingdom, we\'ll be met with the retaliation of all seven witch kingdoms," Emperor Renardier replied with a frown. "Do you know something about the Kingdom of Black Rose? Does our empire stand no chance even with Transcendent Henrietta out of the picture?"

"It was wise of you to see before you initiated a war with the Kingdom of Black Rose, Renardier," Elsbeth stated.

"I do not know whether the Kingdom of Black Rose has any hidden experts or allies that could be a match for our empire\'s army. However, I do know that if you do not want the empire to suffer heavy losses, leave the Great Imperial Legion behind. Do not bring them to war with you," Elsbeth advised.

"I don\'t understand, mother," Emperor Renardier frowned with confusion and doubt.

"The Great Imperial Legion contains some of the most powerful warriors in the entire empire. So it wouldn\'t be farfetched to say that not bringing the Great Imperial Legion is equivalent to cutting our military force in half. Not having them would no doubt increase my casualties in war."

"It is almost like you are implying the Great Imperial Legion will betray our empire if they go to the Kingdom of Black Rose," Emperor Renardier guessed.

"I am not saying that they definitely will, but there is a high chance under the right circumstances," Elsbeth replied with a sigh before mentioning, "You should already know this, but your late father, the previous emperor, wasn\'t the legitimate heir."

"He only assumed the imperial throne after the rightful heir, your father\'s elder brother, who is also your uncle, suddenly died along with his whole family. However, the truth is your uncle\'s bloodline is still alive in the Kingdom of Black Rose; you have an older female cousin."

"Considering our side of the family had always been under the suspicion that we poisoned the true emperor\'s family to death to usurp the throne and the Great Imperial Legion being loyal to the true heir, your older cousin\'s existence will likely sway them into turning against you," Elsbeth stated.

After the revelation, Emperor Renardier fell silent for some time.

As someone who had been the reigning sovereign of the Holy Knight Empire for two hundred years, he wouldn\'t just hand over the position to anyone besides his offspring.

Furthermore, even if he wasn\'t from the legitimate royal bloodline, he had ruled the empire for many years. The Great Imperial Legion shouldn\'t cling to the past.

"Even if my older cousin reveals her status, she\'s a woman and has no right to the throne," Emperor Renardier said with a firm look. "However, there is a way to turn my illegitimate rule legitimate. I just have to marry my older cousin."

"That is indeed a solution to the legitimacy problem," Elsbeth acknowledged. "But unless you use force, she will never agree to it."

"And I am fine with that," Emperor Renardier said determinedly.

"So you have made up your mind."

"Yes, mother."

"Then may the glory of the Sun God be with you in battle."

"Thank you, mother."

…

Shortly after receiving Queen Dowager\'s blessings, Emperor Renardier left.

He immediately headed to his private armory, which had four imperial guards with Peak-level Rank 4 strength guarding at every given moment.

Inside the private armory were multiple sets of armor and a range of swords. The lowest quality among the items stored was Low-level Rank 5.

"Rank 5 Anti-magic Armor… It\'s been a long time since I was required to don this armor for battle," Emperor Renardier muttered as he gazed at a full set of golden-white armor with some nostalgia.

Few people became his opponent after he reached High-level Rank 5 Aura King.

That said, he did not dare to underestimate the Kingdom of Black Rose. Thus, he had decided to bring his full strength to the war.

"With the augmentation of my supporters, my battle power should be raised to an unrivaled level within the Transcendent rank…" Emperor Renardier estimated.

He suddenly thought it was unfortunate that he would get the chance to test his peak strength against Transcendent Henrietta in battle.