BAM!
"The rat dared?!" Helen's outburst snapped everyone's attention toward her.
"...?" Her second brother turned toward her, eyebrows slightly furrowed. It was unusual for Helen's voice to be heard unless she was directly addressed.
"Oh? What happened? What haaaappened?!" The fourth brother, Harry, sneered. "Did you receive bad news? Did the Ghassan Empire finally invade your pathetic planets to put an end to your misery?"
No one in the room assud Helen had directed her insult at them or their father. She might have been reclusive and reckless in their eyes, but not to that extent.
"Hmph. It was only a matter of ti." Even the third sister found entertainnt in Helen's misfortune, montarily distracted from her own troubles.
"..." Helen, realizing she had drawn too much attention, casually dusted off the remnants of the shattered armrests from her attire. Then, standing up, she gave a slight bow toward her father.
"There is an urgent matter I must attend to. Please, allow to leave imdiately for Destruction Pit Planet."
"…!"
The other three siblings stared at her, then turned to look at their father.
When the massacre had occurred all those centuries ago and their father had imposed the permanent 10% tribute, he had also decreed the Quarter-Millennial Assembly. Among its strict rules:
They must attend, no matter the circumstances.They must remain until granted permission to leave, no matter the circumstances.They must not request to leave, no matter the circumstances.
Just making such a request was a direct challenge to their father's authority!
Their father's brows furrowed slightly. "You're too clever to make such a request, my dear. What happened? I have received no reports of any major movents from the Ghassan Multiplanetary Empire."
"…They did nothing." Helen regained her composure and sat back down. "Please, continue the eting and pretend I never spoke."
Rage burned in her chest like a volcano, but her fear of her father burned hotter.
"...."
Their father's gaze slowly swept over her from head to toe.
The crimson tint in her irises visible beneath her mask.
Her hands, trembling ever so slightly.
The involuntary tilt of her head.
The sheen of sweat on her skin.
Each sign pointed to one thing.
"A soul wound?"
The three siblings turned toward Helen again, this ti with deadly seriousness.
As heirs of the Destra Family, they could afford to lose planets, they could afford to lose wars—
But they could NOT afford to lose a battle!
"I rely lost a shard. That's all." Helen spoke quickly, dispelling the notion that soone had actually defeated her. "Please, move on to another topic. It's not a big deal— I simply overreacted."
"How did it happen?" Their father had no intention of letting the matter go.
Crack. Helen clenched her fists tightly.
She feared speaking, but she feared remaining silent in front of a direct question even more.
In the end, she chose the truth.
"...One of my vassal empires in the Young Belt was defeated. The soul shard I left with their pathetic emperor was destroyed. That's all."
The Father nodded.
"If the bearer of a soul shard is slain, the shard should imdiately escape their soul domain and hide sowhere until you retrieve it from that planet." His gaze grew sharper. "If it was truly valuable, you could have even used it to possess soone and have them bring it back to you, and there are other ways to retrieve them, It's a kind of an art of itself... soul shards are not get destroyed simply because their bearer dies."
His tone softened slightly, but a dangerous glint remained in his eyes.
"I understand the first part, that your vassal was slain, Now explain the second… How was your soul shard destroyed?"
Helen's sweating intensified. What was she supposed to say? She had been battling the Ghassan Empire for thousands of years, and never once had she suffered an injury like this. If she so much as opened her mouth and admitted that a re, insignificant human—one who hadn't even mastered the fourth degree of laws—had been the cause of her wound, she would never escape the scrutiny of her kin for as long as she lived.
Yet, under her father's piercing gaze, she had no choice but to speak. "…It was the planet's spirit. My foolish subordinate manifested my soul shard before his death, causing the planet's spirit to mistake for an intruder and attack."
"Aha… AHAHAHAHA!!" The fourth prince, Harry, couldn't hold back his laughter.
"The planet spirits are like children—always illogical, always unpredictable…" The second prince nodded, seemingly convinced by Helen's explanation.
"Hmm." Their father, however, furrowed his brows slightly. He could sense that sothing was missing, but he didn't press the matter further. Instead, he leaned back into his throne and waved a hand dismissively. "With so rest, your soul will recover. With so training, you will regain what you have lost. There is no need for despair, my dear. Only grieve if you lose the war entirely and no longer have anything to pay your debts with."
Then, his gaze swept over the rest of his children. "Well, today's eting is over. Return to your quarters, consider your requests carefully, and we shall convene again next week."
"Father, wait!"
Helen's voice rang out the mont her father finished speaking.
"What is it, my dear?" The Emperor smiled faintly, his eyes half-closed in amusent.
Helen hesitated for a mont. Then, with newfound determination, she asked, "…If I make a request, may I leave now?"
"…?!" Her three brothers turned to stare at her in shock. Helen had never requested anything before—not once in her entire life. She barely had the resources to pay the mandatory 10% tax to begin with!
Their father slowly opened his eyes, and for a brief mont, a glimr of intrigue flashed within them. "Consider your request granted. What do you desire?"
"…I need protection." Helen clenched her teeth, her body trembling slightly with rage. "I plan to personally enter the Young Planetary Belt, and I have no idea what will happen there. I need your promise of protection should they co after ."
"My fifth sister, attacking the Young Planetary Belt is madness," the second prince spoke with concern. "The planetary spirits will retaliate, the Law of Karma will hunt you down, and if the Star Academies catch wind of your actions, they won't let you off so easily. And for what? There's nothing in the Young Planetary Belt to lust after. Holding a grudge against re ants will do you no good!"
"This is personal," Helen said firmly, her face twitching as suppressed emotions threatened to surface.
She could still see Robin's wretched face sneering down at her, still hearing the insults that had been hurled at her!
Their father raised a hand, silencing the second prince before he could protest further. Then, his eyes locked onto Helen's. "How much destruction do you intend to cause in the Young Planetary Belt?"
Helen closed her eyes for a mont, taking a deep breath before declaring with absolute resolve, "…At a minimum, I will destroy one planet. At most, I will obliterate thirteen."
"Destroying thirteen planets?! Helen, are you—" The second prince nearly jumped to his feet in alarm, but a single glance from their father forced him back into his seat.
Their father remained silent, staring at Helen's furious expression for a full minute before finally nodding. "I cannot determine the debt now, for I cannot predict how severe the consequences will be. Perhaps no one will co after you, in which case, you will owe nothing. But if the situation escalates… you may find yourself indebted to forever. And I will not tolerate disputes over the price of my protection once the favor has been granted."
Helen felt a chill crawl down her spine at her father's words. Instinctively, she glanced at her second brother, who shook his head multiple tis, silently urging her to refuse.
But then, echoes of a voice rang in her ears:
—"You impatient Bitch!"—
—"I'll make sure you rember as the one who broke your nose!"—
—"When dealing with fools, no one is crazier than !"—
Helen's entire body tensed as those words replayed in her mind.
Then, her expression hardened with resolve.
She nodded, bowed slightly toward her father, then, without another word, turned and left the Destra Galaxy in silence.
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