“Nier . ”

“Your Majesty . ”

Nier sat up . Elizabeth signalled with her hand for Nier to not stand up . Elizabeth walked over to her and removed her cloak . She used it as a blanket then lied down with Nier . Nier trembled as she looked at Elizabeth, who was lying next to her . She desperately wiggled over as she was afraid it was too squishy for her Empress . However, Elizabeth didn’t mind . She grabbed Nier’s hand and, with a smile, said, “It’s all right, Nier . You don’t need to be so tense . Didn’t I tell you? You’re now my daughter, since you’re my son’s wife . ”

“Your Majesty…This…this… Isn’t…”

While Elizabeth was right in saying that, Nier still struggled to come to terms with it owing to her past . Nier viewed Elizabeth as a n.o.ble existence, a holy soul who wasn’t to be defiled . Thus, she wasn’t to be approached . Nier had started coming into contact more contact with Elizabeth, but she still treated her with her old att.i.tude . She always treated Elizabeth as the Empress and herself as the Valkyrie .

“It’s all right . Didn’t I say that you were a daughter to me? If you don’t want to change, you can, at least, be my daughter in private . ”

“But… but… Your Majesty…, I… “

“It’s fine . It’s fine . My son is sleeping with that woman tonight . If I don’t have anybody next to me, I think I might sleepwalk and kill her . ”

Elizabeth hugged Nier with a smile . Nier was so frightened that she froze stiff and didn’t dare to budge . Tone soft, Elizabeth chuckled: “You don’t need to be so nervous, Nier . You were once a Valkyrie I trusted, and now you’re my daughter-in-law who I’m proud of . Therefore, there’s no need to feel nervous . ”

Elizabeth tried to be more intimate with Nier so as to not make her so tense . Elizabeth touched Nier’s head, and then pulled Nier into her embrace . Her long black hair covered Nier . Though it appeared to be cosy, Nier was fearfully quivering in her Empress’s embrace .

Elizabeth sighed . With a helpless smile, she said, “Sometimes, I envy you so much . Seeing you and Lucia reminds me of myself and Vyvyan back in the day . I don’t want to admit it, but I must say that Vyvyan and I were quite close at the time . I was still young back then just as you are now . Before I knew it, I’ve become old . I’m at the age where I emotionally sigh when watching you young ones .

In the past, I didn’t feel I was old . After all, I had lots and lots of things to do at the time . I, therefore, didn’t have the spare time to repent and redress my errors . When my son returned to me, though, I realised I was old . I realised that my son had come of age . Since he was so old now, that meant that I was old . ”

Elizabeth then gently caressed Nier before going on in a tender tone: “I really am quite jealous of you . I’m jealous you get to live together with my son and accompany him into old age . I want to be with him, as well . I’m a failure of a mother . I was never there for my son in the past eighteen years . How much longer will I get to spend by his side? I wasted eighteen years of my life . How many more eighteen years do I have left in me? I’m human; I can’t compare to Vyvyan . ”

“Your Majesty…” enunciated Nier . Even if Nier was hypothetically idiotic, she could understand what Elizabeth was implying with her story . She smiled helplessly: “Your Majesty, if you mean for me to approve of the suggestion, you just need to tell me . I am a Valkyrie, after all . I will never defy your orders, so you have no need to worry . I may be unhappy about it, but nonetheless respect and admire you . Therefore, I will definitely obey your command . ”

“If I did that, I won’t be happy in spite of obtaining what I want . If you weren’t married to my son, I wouldn’t feel so guilty . As I initially said, you’re no longer a Valkyrie to me . You’re my daughter . That’s why I need to properly discuss this with you . You’re my son’s wife, which is why I don’t hope for this to impact your love with my son . It would be for the best for you two to be together forever . This… I hope you won’t consider this from the perspective of a Valkyrie, but as a wife, my son’s wife . I want you to consider this as my daughter-in-law . ”

Elizabeth then touched Nier’s head . She softly continued, “This is very unreasonable, I understand that; I guess you could call it my wilful desire . I no longer have anything else that I desire . All I want is time . Only by having enough time can I continue stay by my son’s side . I’ve lost eighteen years . I don’t have many eighteen years . I truly want to spend more time with my son . I really do . ”

“… I understand now . ”

Nier looked at Elizabeth’s face and gave a slow nod . Although Elizabeth’s request was outrageous, no doubt, Nier understood Elizabeth’s true feelings . Elizabeth truly wanted the dragon egg . She was neither a dragon nor an elf . Humans had very short lifespans . Life was so short in front of a human’s loved one . As the Empress, Elizabeth had never pleaded anybody, but she literally prostrated herself in despair before Nier that day . As a former Valkyrie, Nier couldn’t refuse her .

Nier was upset about it, but there’s n.o.body who wouldn’t sympathise with Elizabeth when seeing the latter so despondent . Nier took in a deep breath . In a soft voice, she responded, “I could give up everything for you . You are my Empress . You are everything to me . You once gave me a purpose in life and courage . Therefore, I can give up everything for you . ”

With a helpless smile, Elizabeth hopelessly replied, “This isn’t for me . We have to take into account my son’s feelings on the matter . With that said, given my son’s character, I think that he will agree . ”

Nier nodded . Elizabeth then turned over and gently took hold of Nier’s young and strong hand, startling the latter . Consequently, Nier didn’t even dare to let her finger budge . Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes . She ended their conversation with a soft goodnight: “Goodnight, then, Nier . ”

“Goodnight, Your Majesty . ”

Elizabeth slept very well that night, whereas Nier didn’t, because she was afraid of offending Her Majesty . Although Elizabeth said she didn’t mind, Nier remained awake due to her reserved mannerisms as a Valkyrie . Had she still been a Valkyrie on that night, she’d be able to brag for an entire year after sleeping with Empress Elizabeth .

Current time in Irina’s room .

“Ugh…”

Irina’s finger twitched . Blearily, she opened her eyes . She sluggishly looked around .   Her dragon heritage granted her a strong life force and rapid recovery ability, allowing her to regain conscious within a short time frame . She blankly looked at the ceiling she was familiar with . Slightly perturbed, she wondered why she was there . What transpired resurfaced in her mind . She suddenly realised why she was there . She vigorously sat up and looked side to side . However, due to the painful sensation from her belly, she instinctively took in a breath of air and lay back down . She wondered, “What exactly happened?”

“Irina, you’re up . ”

There turned out to be somebody next to her . She just didn’t notice her before due to the darkness . Irina lingered for a moment . She fearfully looked at Sylvanas . Sylvanas wasn’t angry . Instead, she, in an amiable tone, told her, “It’s all right . You don’t need to be afraid . Since you’ve come to, it means that you’re all right . Keep sleeping . You should be close to fully healed by tomorrow morning . ”

“Queen Dowager Sylvanas… I… I… Umm…”

“Don’t mind it,” interjected Sylvanas, accompanying her response with a shake of her head . She didn’t let Irina continue stuttering her explanation . She subtly smiled: “I was very angry, but I can’t find it in me to get angry when I see you in this state . Moreover, you almost became the hope of the dragon race, so you should be more heartbroken than I am right now . ”

“What… do you mean… almost…?”

Irina’s heart immediately stopped for a few beats . The words dunked her into an abyss of ice . A numbing sensation started at her fingertip and spread throughout . Her brain ceased functioning . She opened and closed her mouth, but no sounds came out . She touched her belly with her shaky hand . There was a slight painful sensation from her flat belly .

“Unfortunately, Irina, you had a miscarriage . Your egg was crushed when you were a.s.saulted . ”

Sylvanas sat by the edge of the bed and took hold of Irina’s hand . Irina s.p.a.ced out as she sat there . It was pouring on her parade, yet she felt as if she was reborn . She had no idea what sort expression she was meant to wear . The future and bliss that she fought tooth and nail to attain was destroyed . Just hours ago, she was immersed in the panic and bliss of becoming a mother, yet it was all gone before she could really relish it . It seemed fake as a dream and terrifyingly surreal .

“I… I…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Irina . Since you could get pregnant once, you’ll be able to get pregnant a second time . Don’t rush . Don’t rush . Irina, don’t be too sad about it . None of us expected this to happen . You’re still young . You still have a future . You’ll have another child… You still have a future…”