This was the first ti Aiden had ever seen the true side of this iron-willed Empress after she had completely let down her guard.
"You’re here."
Eira raised her head. On her breathtakingly beautiful face, a faint, pure smile appeared.
This smile no longer carried the pressure she had in court, where she seed to look down on everyone. Instead, it was gentle, like the smile of a kind girl next door.
"Sit."
She lifted her slender hand and pointed to the seat across from her.
Aiden showed no hesitation. He strode over and sat down boldly in front of the Empress.
His eyes were as deep as the Abyss as he quietly looked at the woman before him—the woman who held the power of life and death over countless people.
Eira picked up the warm white jade wine pot on the table and actually stood up in person.
She bent slightly and filled the cup in front of Aiden with a top-quality clear wine, rich with spiritual energy.
"Aiden, this is the first ti that We... no, that I have ever invited a minister to dine with alone."
Eira looked into Aiden’s eyes. There was a hard-to-describe emotion in her voice.
Aiden did not bother with polite words. He simply picked up the cup, raised his head, and drank it all in one go.
"Nice."
He put the cup down. His voice was calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Eira also picked up her cup and took a small sip. A faint blush appeared on her beautiful face.
Then she slowly set the cup down. Her eyes beca a little distant, as if she had fallen into mories from long ago.
"When I sit in this position, everyone respects , fears , and even hates in secret."
Her voice was soft and clear, but it carried a deep loneliness that could not be hidden.
"In court, I am the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire. I am the undefeated symbol of this nation."
"I can’t show weakness. I can’t have personal feelings. I don’t even have the right to sigh in front of others!"
Eira’s fingertips turned slightly pale. The white jade wine cup in her hand gave a faint tremble.
"But Aiden, I am still a person of flesh and blood."
"Since I was young, I have given up far too much for the Great Shaw Empire."
"Now, the Golden Great Wall has been cracked by the Demon God’s attack, and the countless races of the Abyss are watching us like hungry wolves."
"And inside the empire, the Evil Demons Guild is like a disease, madly eating away at the very foundation of this nation!"
Eira’s voice slowly rose, carrying a tremble that had been held back for far too long.
"Sulla was right. The Great Shaw Empire has been under pressure for too long."
"And I, as the Empress, am truly... so tired."
By the ti she finished speaking, Eira’s eyes had turned slightly red. A rare layer of tears shimred in them.
In this cold and heartless palace, there had never been anyone who truly understood her loneliness and helplessness.
Not even her own daughter, Kelsey.
Faced with the Empress’s heartfelt confession, Aiden said nothing.
He simply sat there in silence. His presence was as deep as the sea and as vast as the Abyss, giving off an unshakable sense of safety.
Then Aiden silently reached out and picked up the white jade wine pot on the table.
As if he were the host now, he slowly filled Eira’s empty cup.
The clear sound of wine being poured was especially sharp in the quiet private room, as if each drop was falling directly on the heart.
Eira stared blankly at the silent man before her, a man as steady as a mountain.
His dominating presence seed strong enough to crush the ages. His invincible aura had been forged through endless killing in the Abyss. It was sothing she had never seen in anyone else.
At that mont, a strange light suddenly flashed in Eira’s eyes.
The crisp sound of pouring wine echoed through the quiet room.
The rich spiritual energy within the top-quality clear wine turned into thin white mist, curling around their fingertips.
After several rounds of drinks, the night wind outside the window had stopped at so point.
Yet inside the private room, the air seed to be growing warr.
A strange, unspoken tension slowly spread between them, carried by the rich scent of wine.
Eira rested her cheek on one hand. Her eyes, usually deep and full of authority, were now clouded with a soft drunken haze.
Two patches of red rose on her beautiful face, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow, bright and delicate.
She tilted her head slightly and stared at the man in front of her with burning eyes.
"Aiden..."
She called his na softly.Her voice no longer had the cold majesty she showed in court. Instead, it carried a woman’s gentle laziness and a touch of drunken charm.
"In your eyes, what kind of person am I?"
"Or rather... how do you feel about ?"
With the help of the wine, the Empress who held the highest power in the Great Shaw Empire finally asked the question she had kept deep in her heart for a long ti.
The mont her words fell, the air in the room seed to freeze.
Aiden’s hand paused slightly as he held his wine cup.
He raised his head. His calm eyes, like an ancient well, looked straight into Eira’s eyes, which were filled with hope and nervousness.
He did not look away. He did not panic.
There was only the deep calm of a man who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"You are the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire. You are the pillar of countless humans."
Aiden’s voice was low and steady, without any hesitation.
"So of course, I respect you as the ruler of a nation."
When Eira heard the word [respect], a faint shadow of disappointnt flashed through her eyes.
But then, Aiden put down the white jade cup in his hand.
"But beyond that, I also admire you."
Those four words were like a huge stone crashing into a calm lake, sending massive waves through Eira’s heart.
"Admire ..."
Eira froze. Then a bitter, almost heartbreaking smile appeared on her lips.
"But I don’t want to be only that untouchable Empress."
She suddenly stood up. Her wide, plain white dress moved with her, like a white lotus blooming in the dark night.
She wore no shoes. Her clear, delicate bare feet stepped onto the warm rosewood floor as she slowly walked to the window.
The bright moonlight poured down like water, covering her perfect figure in a holy silver glow.
In the sky above, the phantoms of the ninety-nine Golden Dragons of National Destiny circled, yet even they seed unable to match her loneliness at this mont.
"Aiden, do you know?"
With her back to him, Eira looked out at the many palace buildings deep inside the imperial grounds. Her voice was so soft it seed the wind could carry it away.
"I get tired too. I get scared too."
"Once I take off that heavy nine-dragon imperial robe, I am only an ordinary woman."
"I also want... a shoulder I can lean on."
"I also want soone to stand in front of , protect with everything he has, and... love deeply."
She almost trembled as she said the last words.
This was not only the sigh of the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire.
It was also the cry of a soul that had been trapped in chains for far too long.
Aiden remained seated, his deep eyes fixed on her slender back, bathed in moonlight.
He said nothing. Instead, he slowly stood up.
As he rose, a terrifying wave of magic belonging to a Legendary Rank warrior appeared around him, but he held it perfectly within a small space, without making the slightest sound.
He took a step forward and silently walked up behind Eira.
The two of them were now only inches apart.
Aiden could even sll the faint fragrance in her hair and feel the slight warmth coming from her delicate body.
"Then what do you want?"
Aiden lowered his head slightly. His voice was like a dark bell echoing through the Abyss, striking straight at the soul.
Eira’s body trembled hard.
She slowly turned around and looked up, eting Aiden’s deep black eyes—eyes that seed able to swallow everything.
Their eyes t.
In front of Aiden’s huge, overwhelming figure, powerful enough to suppress the ages, the Empress who had once commanded the world seed so small and fragile.
Eira bit her red lip tightly. The hesitation in her eyes turned, in an instant, into a fla of determination.
"I want you."
Those four words rang out clearly, like a clap of thunder.
There was no royal restraint. No concern for imperial dignity. Only the most honest and pure desire.
The private room fell into a deathly silence.
Even the fla of the high-level magic lamp in the corner seed to pause for a mont under this shocking confession.
Aiden was silent.
No emotion could be seen on his cold, statue-like face. But the faintly twisting space around him revealed the storm in his heart.
Seeing Aiden remain silent, Eira did not step back. Instead, she took a small step forward.
Their breaths were almost touching.
"As long as you are willing..."
Eira raised her head. Her voice carried a slight tremble, as if she had risked everything on this one mont.
"I can put aside my status as the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire. I can let go of all my pride."
"I am willing to be the woman who stands behind you, Aiden!"
If words like these reached the outside world, they would send shockwaves across the entire Earth.
The Empress of the Great Shaw Empire was willing to give up supre imperial power for a man.
Aiden looked at the peerless face before him, a face filled with determination and deep affection.
After a long silence, the hidden aura of the Abyss around him slowly faded, retreating like the tide.
"I need ti to think."
Aiden spoke slowly. His voice was still calm, but it was no longer as cold as before.
He carried the heavy burden of both the Abyss and Earth. There were still too many unknown disasters waiting for him to face.
He would never make a promise lightly.But at the sa ti, he had not rejected her heartlessly.
Hearing this answer, the light in Eira’s eyes did not fade. Instead, it beca even brighter, almost breathtaking.
She understood.
She nodded gently. The sadness on her face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a beautiful smile that could move an entire kingdom.
"Alright."
"I’m not in a hurry."
"Whether it takes ten years, a hundred years, or even ten thousand years after we beco gods..."
"I can wait."
It was such a powerful promise.
And yet, it was also so humble.
The two of them stood facing each other.
Moonlight, the soft breeze, and the fragrance of spirit wine blended together in that mont, creating a subtle atmosphere beyond words.
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