While Irina was respectfully sent to the Imperial Palace, the guards and maids in the palace didn’t recognise her . Ling Yue didn’t live in the Imperial Palace but would often appear . As for Irina, it was their first time seeing her . The maids and guards didn’t know how to treat her, the grandiose Imperial Palace intimidated her, to be honest .

A maid walked over and bowed to Irina . With a smile, she asked, “Ma’am, please follow me to the guest hall . Do you have business at the Imperial Palace?”

The maid was different to the other maids . Her uniform was a tad different . To add to that, it seemed as though she was more experienced than the other maids and had a better att.i.tude, which calmed Irina down to an extent . She followed the maid into the interior of the Imperial Palace .

Irina cautiously answered, “I want to see His Majesty… King Troy…”

The maid responded with a nod and smile: “Consort Irina, am I right? King Troy informed me already; however, he and Princess Freya are currently attending a meeting . Therefore, he cannot see you right away . Please wait for him in his office for now . You can use the break room next door to rest . Would you like a cup of nice tea, or would you like a tour of the Imperial Palace, perchance?”

“I will just wait in the break room . ”

Irina felt a little nervous at the thought of wandering such a large palace . The maid gave her a smile, which gave the impression the maid had a prank in mind . The two went along the stairs to Troy’s office . Irina enviously surveyed at the office before her . She emotionally remarked, “I have never seen his residence . I have only ever heard of it . It seems that his living conditions are good . ”

“Not exactly . After all, he is often tired from work . When he has a lot of work, it is normal for him not to return to his room . The recent conference is important, so it has been a long time since he has had any decent sleep . He is virtually meeting with people from the two parties if not in a meeting . ”

“Has my visit caused him trouble, then…? I said that I would not cause him any trouble… Should… I have not come…?” asked Irina .

The maid smiled and pulled open the door: “Not at all . Though I am not informed of the past events, as His Majesty did not fill me in on much in regards to it, he does care about you and your child . He once had Tanya take things to you . Knowing that you would visit today, he had me wait in the Imperial Palace to welcome you . I forgot to introduce myself . I am King Troy’s personal servant, Luna . ”

Irina exclaimed, “Ah! His Majesty told me about you . He said that you are his only personal servant . ”

Luna subtly smiled: “Yes . There are already people waiting inside, so I need not see you in . You and her should get to know each other . You may seek her out in the future, after all . ”

“Ling Yue…?”

“Yes . Consort Ling Yue and Princess Liu Yue are both inside at the moment . ”

Irina fearfully looked inside the room . The very thought of a fox being inside oddly scared her . Ling Yue’s n.o.ble att.i.tude evoked an inferiority complex, which was why she didn’t want to face Ling Yue . However, Luna, who was next to her, had an upward curve to her lips . Thus, Irina had no choice, but to muster up her courage and step inside to meet Ling Yue .

Irina egged herself on in her mind: “I must be confident . I must be confident . I am also Troy’s woman . I have a child, as well . I’m not inferior to Ling Yue . ”

After Irina entered, Luna gently shut the door .

The break room wasn’t large . It was a standard rectangular room . A long coffee table was placed in the centre where teacups and a teapot rested on top . There was someone sitting with an upright posture on a long sofa to the side of the table, quietly enjoying a cup of tea .

Irina went red in the face because she realised Ling Yue overhead her conversation with Luna . Fortunately, her fear wasn’t heard .

Liu Yue was sprawled out with her head on her mom’s thigh, sleeping off the fatigue from the trip . Irina carefully sat down on the sofa opposite Ling Yue . Feeling awkward, she didn’t know where to look . Ling Yue gently set down her teacup then picked up the teapot . She poured Irina a cup of tea in an elegant manner . She gently placed it in front of Irina . Irina jolted and then quickly picked the cup up . Voice soft, she said, “Thank you very much . ”

“There’s no need to feel tense,” said Ling Yue, as she gently put the teapot down . “Since you’re in a relations.h.i.+p with Troy, it’s inevitable for you to meet with lots of people . If you’re so nervous, Nier and Lucia will see through you . You might not harbour those ideas, but, at least, don’t let the two of them look down on you . ”

“Yes… . ”

In truth, Irina met the two before . After that meeting, Irina decided to never meet them again… Their first meeting wasn’t a happy one, after all . She always felt ashamed for the reason that she stole their man . She may be a dragon, and she did it to save the dragon race from their crisis, but she didn’t want to do it .

“So then, may I ask what you came to see Troy for? You would not come here unless something came up, right?”

“Mm… I came here to ask about my child… I cannot let my child be without a father forever . Moreover, my child has grown up . I thought that he could get a job in the Imperial Palace . Our dragon race has always lived in seclusion, but I do not want for my child to continue living in seclusion in this world . I would a.s.sume there will not be many places for us to live in seclusion in the future . That is why I really want for Troy to give my child a job . ”

“I see . ”

Irina s.h.i.+fted her gaze to Liu Yue . With a smile, she said, “Your daughter is so cute . ”

“Indeed . ” Ling Yue didn’t bother with modesty as she elaborated, “After all, she has Troy’s blood . She’s pretty and adorable . I came here for my daughter, as well, and to partake in a meeting while I’m at it . The anthropoids are involved in this matter, which is why I need to be involved . ”

“I heard that His Majesty is in the middle of a meeting . Do you know what it is about?”

“It is about business . The North is well-known for being a location where fur is produced, particularly the fur of animals in the North . In saying that, the North processes them where they are produced . There is a limit to how much of the raw material is exported . Unfortunately, the anthropoids are willing to sell it to some humans at a high price . That, therefore, makes it hard for the North’s factories to receive goods . Businessmen from humanity and the North’s lands are in conflict over it . That has put His Majesty in a tight spot . That’s why he’s holding a meeting for the three parties involved, namely anthropoids, the North and humans . The people outside the city are humans awaiting the news from the meeting . ”

“I-Is that so?”

“Mm, it has nothing to do with you, so you don’t need to worry about it . It’s just that His Majesty will be quite tired from dealing with it, as he can’t disappoint humanity’s businessmen . Hence, we may have to wait here for a long time . ”