“Castell.”

Castell stood at the door and looked at the beauty lying on the bed in the room， reading the letter in front of her. He only knew that the letter came from His Majesty, which was sent from the desert. He was unclear of what the contents were; however, he could see that Her Majesty viewed it with great importance. The letter arrived yesterday. Her Majesty was so excited that she didn’t eat dinner and looked at it all night. She even held it in her sleep, as though she was hugging her son.

Her majesty was always been absent-minded, ever since His Majesty left. She always looked south and s.p.a.ced out whenever she was free. When night came, not even her sleep-aid medication could guarantee her a good night of sleep. That made Castell worry a bit, since it was clear that her health was deteriorating.

However, she slept well after receiving the letter.

Castell bowed as he looked at the Empress. He asked, “What are you orders, Your Majesty?”

“I shouldn’t be getting involved with this under normal circ.u.mstances, but since my son has mentioned it to me, I must bring it up.”

The Empress rolled over. Though she looked excited and happy after receiving her son’s letter, the gaze she looked at Castell with was not a relaxed and fond one. To the contrary, it was a very stern reproaching gaze filled with criticism. Castell had never been looked at that way before. He felt his limbs feel frozen ice-cold due to her gaze as he quaked uncontrollably.

“Your Majesty, please elaborate… I… I

do not understand…”

Castell muttered as he looked at the Empress. His cold sweat ran down the tip of his nose.

“You need to teach your merchant group manners. If they see His Majesty outside of the palace and don’t salute him, aren’t they showing disregard for their superiors?” The Empress looked at Castell. Her lips twitched before she waved her hand and continued, “That’s all I wanted to say. Castell, your merchant group saw His Majesty in the desert, yet didn’t salute him. Do they not recognise His Majesty, or are they doing something questionable? I know that this has nothing to do with you. However, you’re their leader so I naturally speak to you if there’s a problem with your subordinates.”

Castell trembled and in a low-pitched voice replied: “Understood… I shall now go and set them straight.”

“All right.”

The Empress still trusts Castell. She didn’t say anything more. She didn’t even suspect anything. When she referred “shady” stuff, she never thought they’d be secretly transporting ores and firearms. In her mind, her idea of “shady” was, in the most severe case, transporting illegal goods to earn some money on the side.

“I just got news from Karnashun. His Majesty is on his way back from the desert and should soon be here.”

As soon as Castell left, Alice entered her majesty’s room with a letter. Elizabeth lingered for a moment and then hopped off the bed without getting dressed to s.n.a.t.c.h the letter over. She was elated as a child when she saw the official news. She kissed the letter and then tightly hugged it.

it. She cheerfully pulled the curtains open and shouted: “My son is coming back! My son is coming back!!!”

“Your Majesty, come back!! You are not wearing anything! You are not dressed!!”

Shall we say it was good luck or back luck?

When a few of the garden workers turned around, all they saw was a blurry shadow. I guess you’re lucky to see the body of the most beautiful woman on the continent. But if you did, then your entire family would lose their lives. So is it good luck or bad luck…?

“Your Highness.”

Lucia looked at Vyvyan as she saluted her with a small bow. Vyvyan helped Lucia up. She stroked her Lucia’s head with a smile and said, “Lucia, you don’t need to salute me. You’re essentially my child when no outsiders are around. Moreover, you’re carrying my son’s child, so you don’t need to salute me anymore.”

“All right, Your Highness… but… but…”

Lucia’s lips budged a few times as though she found it hard to say what was on her mind.

Vyvyan watched her for a while before revealing a smile. She asked, “So you came to find out about your child’s condition, did you? What’s wrong, Lucia? Are you worried for your child?”

Lucia hesitated for a moment before answered: “… No. I am more worried about His Highness.”

It’s pointless to hide things from Vyvyan when you’re in front of her, because she’ll be able to read your mind. Lucia looked up at Vyvyan’s eyes and continued, “I am a little concerned if I will be able to give His Highness a qualified descendant… because

descendant… because my bloodline… my bloodline is too poor… If our child’s mana is too poor… I think that His Highness will feel really sad…”

Vyvyan looked at Lucia’s expression. She appeared to be reading Lucia’s mind, but at the same time as if she was just s.p.a.cing out. She hesitated for a moment before looking at Lucia and replying, “I, on the other hand, think that even if your child’s bloodline is poor or mana is poor, my son won’t abandon you, regardless.”

Lucia shook her head and then calmly responded, “I am not worried about being abandoned… It is my duty to provide His Highness with a qualified descendant. I can accept His Highness abandoning me for not fulfilling this duty… It is just that… I do not want to make His Highness sad or cause everyone to attack His Highness in the future because of his successor…”

Vyvyan looked at Lucia’s gaze and softly chuckled. She rubbed her belly and then stroked Lucia’s head. Her lips turned up into an eerie smile. She pulled her hand back and then softly giggled as she looked at Lucia. She then hugged her pet.i.te body and tenderly said, “Trust in my son’s love for you, Lucia. The two of you have been through so much. Do you think you two would split up over this? I promise you, Lucia, you will not bring my son problems over his child. I will use some tricks to ensure that you give birth to an acceptable child. I promise you. I swear on the name of Vyvyan Galadriel that I

Galadriel that I will ensure you have an excellent descendant.”

“Your Highness… Thank you… Thank you…”

Moved, Lucia hugged Vyvyan tightly. Vyvyan gently patted Lucia on her back to soothe Lucia. A moment later, Lucia wiped the corner of her eyes and released Vyvyan. Vyvyan looked to the south and softly said, “My son will soon be back. I believe that he will be back very soon to see you. When he gets back, share with him what you’re thinking. You must inform my son about this sort of stuff.”

“Uhm, Your Highness… Is His Highness well…?”

“He’s still alive. I only know that much. Worry not, he’s not in danger. If he was on the verge of death, I would’ve already gone there.”

Vyvyan’s gaze turned cold and sharp. In a slightly depressed tone, she then said, “Ever since I gave him that necklace, he has only ever called for me once. Why doesn’t he ever think of his mom when he’s in danger…? Why? Could it be that he thinks I’m useless?”

“I think it must be because His Highness wants to accomplish something on his own.”

“But a mom’s purpose is to busy herself for her son, is it not…? My son always doing this makes me sad.”

Vyvyan shook her head as though she wanted to get rid of her dissatisfaction and depressive feelings. She wore on a polite smile then stroked Lucia’s head, “Let’s go, Lucia. Let’s go for a stroll together. Spending time in nature is good for your child’s development, you know.”

“You really do know so much, Your Highness!”

“That’s because I gave birth to my son!”