Chapter 148: Is It Too Late for Orthopedics Now?
The news of the 2 great families facing off spread throughout the entire royal capital.
Many people were utterly baffled by the whole affair.
What on earth had happened to make the atmosphere between the 2 great families so tense?
It looked every bit like they were on the verge of coming to blows.
What surprised people most of all was this:
This ti, even the Emperor himself didn't seem to know whose side he should stand on.
Who was right, and who was wrong?
Lady Cassana stood at the entrance of the manor, watching the family's specially crafted carriage draw up before her, a look of quiet contemplation on her face.
The Rether Family's carriages were bolstered by a special enchantnt.
Even traveling a thousand li in a single day posed no problem.
She was flanked on all sides by layer upon layer of guards, the grand formation resembling a small army in its own right, brimming with an imposing aura.
She was to return to the main estate, where she would conduct a final round of negotiations with Viktor.
Just as Lady Cassana was about to step into the carriage, the female guard at her side seed to sense sothing.
"Please wait a mont, my lady."
She turned with an icy look and cast a sidelong glance at Elsa.
The female guard lowered her head and said:
"There is soone who wishes to see you."
"……"
Within the encirclent of the guard formation, a path slowly opened up.
Auréliane, dressed in lavish gem-encrusted attire, made her way unhurriedly toward Lady Cassana, a warm and approachable smile gracing her face.
She too had guards at her side, but compared to Cassana's, they looked remarkably thin in number.
Because she had brought only 1 person.
And even that single guard, she didn't seem to want along.
Auréliane turned back and spoke to the guard behind her:
"Cilia, you may return."
Cilia stood nearby, a note of hesitation in her voice:
"But, Your Highness……"
"Is there any place safer than beside my aunt?"
Cilia tightened her grip on her sword hilt, her gaze sweeping over the assembled guards around her as she wrestled with the decision inwardly.
After a short while, she gave a nod of assent.
"Understood, Your Highness."
Once Cilia had slowly departed, Cassana turned to face Auréliane, regarding her with an air of noble composure.
"Aunt Cassana, it has been a long ti."
Cassana looked at Auréliane, her lips betraying no hint of a smile, her expression utterly unmoved.
"Auréliane."
"It must have been several years since we last saw each other."
Cassana still rembered that the last ti she had seen this child, she couldn't have been even 10 years old yet.
And in the blink of an eye, she had grown this much.
"You wouldn't have co to find at a ti like this just to reminisce, I'm sure."
Auréliane smiled, an aura of confidence wreathing her as she t Lady Cassana's gaze directly.
"Of course not."
Cassana regarded Auréliane with a calm, asured look, both hands resting before her skirt, her own eyes equally fixed on the other.
Compared to how she once had been, the Auréliane before her now...seed no longer as timid as she used to be.
Auréliane spoke in an even tone:
"Aunt Cassana, I have co to offer you counsel."
"Do not make an enemy of my teacher."
At those words, the warriors surrounding them instantly went cold-eyed, the weapons in their hands all giving the faintest of tremors.
Cassana also raised her head, casting Auréliane an imperious glance.
"And why would you say such a thing?"
"Do not forget—you are of the royal house."
Auréliane let out a quiet sigh and said:
"The extent of my teacher's strength is beyond your imagination."
"In any case, please hear out."
Auréliane's expression was grave beyond asure:
"Pursue negotiation above all else, and comply with my teacher's demands as much as you are able."
"A confrontation by force will only hasten the destruction of the Rether Family."
Cassana seed about to say sothing, but the mont she parted her lips, Auréliane was a step ahead of her.
"Think of the Northern Frontier. Think of those tens of thousands of barbarians."
"Think of the fate that ultimately befell the Delin Family."
Cassana narrowed her eyes, and replied with equal composure:
"Is this your father's intent, or yours?"
Auréliane shook her head, letting out a soft, helpless laugh.
"Truth be told, I would rather stand on my teacher's side—but you are my kin."
"I have only co to remind you: if you still wish to do battle with my teacher, then……"
"Please allow to accompany you to the South."
Hearing her request, Cassana narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, and at last a asure of gravity crept into her bearing.
"That old Emperor……how willing he truly is to give things up."
"I trust my teacher will not harm , and besides……"
At this, a gentle smile crossed Auréliane's face.
"Aunt Cassana, Father has always told ."
"We are family."
"……"
Cassana was silent for a mont, then spoke as though in resignation:
"If he is willing to return Jess to ……"
Whatever ca last—low and muffled—was perhaps sothing Cassana murmured to herself, or perhaps, simply silence.
She turned away, no longer facing Auréliane.
Yet that voice, now carrying just a touch of softness, drifted out gently:
"Get in the carriage, Auréliane……no, that's not right."
"My niece."
***
"Why did you have to provoke Lady Cassana?"
In the study, Leah couldn't help but ask Viktor.
When Viktor had returned, he ca back alone.
Had Viktor not told her himself, Leah would never have known that this brother of hers had quietly gone and done sothing this montous—kidnapping Jess without a word.
And after all that, he had still sent her to go and speak with the arriving Lady Cassana.
If it had been a straightforward negotiation, Leah could have employed any number of rhetorical strategies.
She was absolutely certain a far better outco could have been achieved.
But the directive Viktor had given her was:
'Provoke Cassana.'
Leah couldn't understand it.
Given the Clavena Family's resources, going to war with the Rether Family was not a particularly wise course of action.
Not to ntion, they were all citizens of the Empire.
Even if they could truly win, the Emperor would never permit an internal conflict to unfold.
"Anger robs people of their reason, and as a mother, her anger will only make her more reckless."
"That said, I had no intention of actually starting a war."
Viktor propped up a weighty to of magic, reading as he spoke to Leah.
The crow stood atop the writing desk, dozing away.
"Do you know of Cassana's exploits?"
Viktor's voice drifted out unhurriedly.
Leah blinked at his words, then let out a sigh.
One hand on her hip, she spread the other in exasperation.
"Is that even a question? What citizen of the Empire doesn't know the exploits of the 【Saint of War】?"
The most famous battle of the 【Saint of War】 was the Battle of Tersinev.
At the ti, the mighty Kant Kingdom had brought with it a suprely elite army to harass the border between the Empire and the Kingdom.
The region was known as "Tersinev."
The Kingdom at that ti commanded a great many powerful 3rd Tier warriors.
Furthermore, thanks to the Kingdom's unique brand of alchemy, the armor those warriors wore was a full cut above the Empire's as well.
For the Imperial forces of that era to go head-to-head with the Kingdom in direct confrontation was nothing short of foolishness.
Until Cassana appeared.
The instant the 【Saint of War】 unleashed her ability, the Empire's powerful knights received astonishing buffs.
They gained trendous strength, and their morale surged.
No matter how thick and heavy the Kingdom warriors' armor was, faced with such overwhelming physical might, it could only be crushed with ease.
That battle was utterly turned on its head the mont Cassana arrived.
From then on, Cassana was bestowed a title belonging to her alone.
【Saint of War】
In every battle she appeared in, the Empire had never once suffered a defeat.
"The bloodline of the Sorel House ans that every princess born to it is exceptional in her own way."
It was a bloodline blessed by the divine.
"Cassana is like that, and Auréliane is like that too."
"But unfortunately, Cassana did not have Auréliane's luck—she had no father who truly cherished her."
Cassana had married a man she should never have married, all for the sake of binding the Rether Family and securing that enduring foundation of benefit and support.
But after the previous Emperor died, the invincible Aubrey had no more need of it.
And the future Auréliane would have even less need of this family's backing.
Yet the Rether Family was a behemoth in its own right, its roots sunk deep and firm across the Empire's South.
And this colossal beast, fitted with an engine all its own, was throwing its support behind Aubeny.
The eldest prince.
Leah was left in a slight daze, staring at Viktor.
"You want to……start a war?"
"Not necessarily, but I have every reason to make the Rether Family settle down."
Viktor closed his book and rose to his feet.
His loungewear, accompanied by a lick of fla, transford on its own into that black trench coat.
The window swung open, and a powerful gust swept in, sending his trench coat snapping and billowing.
Outside, the sky had sunk into pitch darkness, heavy clouds blotting out every trace of light.
Like a deep and silent night.
Viktor lifted his head, gazing up at the black sky.
"Has Xiangyilan arrived?"
"After Helnersen returned to the main estate, she ca through the Teleportation Formation you left behind."
Hearing Leah's words, Viktor gave a satisfied nod.
"Let Heni know—have her look after her for ."
The mont his words fell, a white rune on Viktor's trench coat began to slowly pulse with light.
A hurricane gradually gathered and surged from underfoot.
Throughout the room, papers were tossed about in wild disarray, spinning frantically through the air.
Viktor shoved both hands into his pockets as what appeared to be a transparent staircase materialized in midair.
Step by step, he mounted it and walked out through the window.
The crow seed to notice sothing as well, and snapped awake at once, beating its wings and flying toward Viktor's shoulder, landing there steadily.
Viktor continued his walk through the air; the storm beneath his feet grew ever more fierce, swirling together into a white vortex.
At last, a great bird erged from within the vortex, bearing Viktor firmly upon its back.
Leah, with no ti to spare for the disheveled study, rushed after him and leaned out the window.
The storm whipped her hair into a tangle; she raised one hand to push it back behind her ear, all so she could see Viktor clearly.
She watched Viktor's figure standing tall within the raging wind, and called out to him from the window at the top of her voice:
"Brother!"
"Why do you have to do this?"
Viktor turned slowly to look at Leah, then parted his lips.
In an instant, the gale surged.
"Shreeeeee—"
The massive white bird let out a thunderous, savage screech beneath the pitch-black sky, and carrying Viktor upon it, shot forward at breathtaking speed.
Like a streak of white wind, it crossed thousands of li in an instant, flashing trails of white light across and through the low, dark sky in endless succession, weaving in and out among the clouds.
Leah stood rooted to the spot, staring out at the window.
A restless, unsettled feeling spread through her chest, and she couldn't quite tell where it was coming from.
Perhaps it was because of the words he had spoken as he left—words that had reached her ears with perfect clarity.
"Because—"
"I'm your big brother."
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