True King's Ecstasy

Andriya stood on the wall near the cannon that the kingdom left observing it with her keen eyes and trying to understand its mechanism of it.

Some other engineers were also there, but none of them dared to talk with the empress or at least look at her.

Silently observing the cannon for a few minutes, Andriya sighed and left the place leaving the flabbergasted engineers on the spot.

"Did you think she understood what this machine does?" One of them questioned curiously about her last sigh.

They couldn't understand whether it was a sigh of disappointment to a sigh of accomplishment.

"Who knows? That woman is not something we should bother to understand, I don't think we have ever seen a cold-blooded woman like her."

They muttered and went back to work, while Andriya stood atop the walls of the border, gazing out at the horizon where the sun was slowly setting. The warm glow of the sun's rays illuminated the fields below, revealing the remnants of a fierce battle that had taken place just days before.

Her heart sank as she surveyed the scene before her. The ground was littered with the bodies of fallen soldiers of the empire and the kingdom, their once vibrant spirits now extinguished in the wake of the brutal conflict. The air was thick with the stench of death, a reminder of the high cost of war.

As she walked along the walls, Andriya's thoughts began to wander. Was this really what she had wished for? Had she really wanted to be a part of this endless cycle of violence and destruction? The more she thought about it, the more she realized how little she truly understood about the horrors of war, but her face never showed any remorse or resentment.

Andriya had grown up hearing stories of heroism and bravery in battle and had always dreamed of a battle that is depicted in the stories as heroic and vigilant, But now, as she looked out at the devastation that lay before her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and doubt.

"Is this how you felt when you came back to hug me, my prince?"

Andriya questioned herself, remembering why she was fighting for and for what's sake.

Was it really worth sacrificing so much for the sake of a cause? Was there not a better way to resolve conflict and bring peace to the land? As she pondered these questions, Andriya knew that she would need to do some serious soul-searching to find the answers.

For now, she could only watch as the sun continued to sink below the horizon, casting its warm light upon the fallen soldiers below. Andriya knew that the road ahead would be long and difficult, but she was determined to find a way to make a difference in a world torn apart by war and eradicate everything she despised from this world.

"Just you wait, my beloved knight, I will soon come back to you,"

It was a voice that was unbelievable to think that came out of Andriya's mouth, but if someone saw her they would have definitely thought that she was a different person from the usual Andriya.

***

"Hmm~ looks like something strangers going on," Velian muttered looking at the letter in his hand, which was sent right after Remi lost the border.

She didn't forget to mention the strange things, she witnessed so Velian can make some assumptions about it.

"Darling, what's wrong?" Daphnia and Sariya were sitting beside Velian while looking at Aurora, who is playing with other kids that Elda invited.

The news about her presence wasn't easy to hide, but the fact that she was the royal daughter of everyone, nobody knew about it except a very few people.

"Papa!" But one thing really bothered all the seven mothers of Aurora, as no matter how they tried, she would definitely run into Velian's embrace.

They even tried to lure her with sweet foods, but it wasn't effective at all when Velian was present in front of her.

Elda quickly came running in their direction to take her back to play with other kids, but no matter how she tried Aurora kept hiding her face in Velian's chest making cute sounds.

*Sigh

"What do I do with you, you father-con daughter!" Elda muttered and sat beside them looking at other kids, that were playing hide and seek.

"Borders didn't manage to survive, looks like our forces have retreated to the second defence line," Velian's voice came as a surprise to all three girls, as Remi and cannons were there to support the forces near the borders.

"Impossible! What about damages? Is Remi okay?" Daphnia questioned worried about her daughter's friend and she time to time trained Remi as a magical swordsman, so she knew how powerful she was.

"She is okay, I ordered her to retreat if she sees something strange and my suspicions are right, something strange is going on in the empire army and I think it's because of Andriya and that black thing," Velian muttered caressing Aurora's head.

"I heard recently it is really active, one that we have, do you think it's because of Andriya?" Sariya questioned feeling uneasy keeping such a dangerous thing without destroying it.

"Might be, we are simply clueless, I will personally fight with them and find out what is happening,"

And Velian suddenly remembered what Juno told her about the incident that happened in the kingdom.

"Looks like we are being targeted by more than one or two forces, don't worry, when the time comes I will protect everyone, I won't go back on my promise,"

Daphnia and Sariya both smiled seeing that he misunderstood their worried looks.

"Veli, we are not worried about our lives, we are worried about you, even though you're powerful, you're not invisible," Daphnia muttered.

Velian looked at Aurora and smiled reassuringly,

"I want to see her grow and become a splendid dragon, don't worry I won't die that easily,"

Velian said and handed over Aurora to Sariya and Daphnia, as he wanted them to bond with her just like how he is doing and it really worked as both of them doted on her just like how they treated their own children that came out of their wombs.