“Now that she's gone, let me explain,” Girsal spoke calmly and the ladies present perked up and leaned in to listen closely.

“Amber suffered the loss of her child through a miscarriage during our travels a decade ago. This unfortunate incident occurred while we were engaged in a fight with some enemies, and I, regrettably, failed to protect her. Although we managed to survive, her child did not, and that drove her to a state of madness,” He revealed, and the ladies took in deep breaths.

‘Maybe that's why ever since that day she became extremely cranky. I would be the same if I too lost my child,’ Ezra thought and she nodded in understanding.

Girsal continued, “However, two days later, we saw a pod fall from the sky and land to the ground. Once we checked inside we found a baby with the name tag Aurianna in the sheets.” Hearing his words the ladies raised an eyebrow.

“As soon as Amber saw the beautiful baby she immediately claimed Aurianna was her child, and I just went along with it since she became more calm.”

“So she's not like us?” Momo inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Correct,” Girsal affirmed with a nod.

“Could she be a Floop?” Cecilia questioned curiously.

“Huh?” Iona gasped, as she looked at Cecilia with a confused expression.

“I mean in the war she did have wings,” Cecilia pointed out and they all suddenly remembered.

“Yes, but that was for a short moment, Floops the wings on their back never goes,” Yesphine pointed out, pointing to her own back.

“What if she is an interspecies baby? Her mana capacity is not what an ordinary child should have, it even exceeds what a normal High or Chaos Human should have. What'smore she was able to withstand the mana that was poured into her by her golem and survived. A normal human would have exploded!” Lauren speculated and everyone found themselves agreeing with her.

“I agree, that would explain a lot about the skills she used,” Girsal nodded before adding, “Maybe a mixture of a Starlight and a Floop?”

“That could be it,” Emirie nodded.

“That would explain her summoning skills,” Cecilia added and nodded, “And how well she can use so many skills.”

“You guys are overlooking something,” Lauren stated with her arms crossed, and their attention shifted to her.

“Is she the child of an ordinary Floop and Starlight?” Lauren asked curiously.

“There’s a high chance she isn't a child of an ordinary Floop and Starlight. The Floops and Starlights I've seen were much weaker at that age. She's probably from Royal lineage. And I see no losses in keeping her around. Her only problem is her rebellious attitude. Seeing how strong she is now she would be a power house in the near future,” Girsal said with a confident smile.

“Isn't that dangerous for us?” Emirie questioned coldly.

“It is, but without risks, how do you expect to gain large results?” Girsal countered.

“True,” Emirie nodded in understanding.

“With her ability in the near future, no other country would dare to stand up against us. Even the church of Beauty wants her,” Girsal stated with a grin. “It shows how important she is.”

“As does the church of war,” Lauren added.

“And the Church of Light,” Momo chimed in.

“Which I see are two good churches. However, I mostly work with the church of beauty so I recommend that. Even though I give you ladies the freedom to choose what religion you want, you know who we answer to,” Girsal said with a cold smile which made the ladies feel uneasy.

“Yes we do!” They said in unison.

“That's good,” Girsal nodded and stroked his beard.

"Henceforth, Aurianna's etiquette training should be taken seriously. That rebellious attitude must disappear once she comes back from Shinia. Also please take care of her and treat her like your own child. If you treat her weirdly there would be consequences, and I can't have her hating us more,” Girsal warned causing Iona to bite her lips.

“Yes King Girsal!!” The ladies said again in unison.

“Now send a message to Alpherat Shinia!” He declared, getting up from his seat.

_______

As Aurianna strolled towards the throne room, escorted by guards in platinum armor, she couldn't help but ponder, ‘Why is that bothersome old man summoning me all of a sudden?’ Walking by her side, was Blade who maintained her usual composed expression.

"Hmm, Eva, when can I enter the training grounds?" Aurianna queried telepathically.

"Do you want to go there without Leila?" Eva asked with curiosity.

"No," Aurianna shook her head, pouting.

"Then would you like to wait till she comes?" Eva suggested.

"Fine, I'll wait. I do want to see her since we've not seen each other in a year, and I need to ask her about a few things," Aurianna said, a pure smile that rarely graced her face, surprising even Blade, who stole a glance at her.

"That's settled then. I'll bring you there when Leila arrives," Eva promised.

"Okay, and thanks, Eva!" Aurianna beamed.

"Heheh, you're welcome."

Soon, Aurianna and Blade reached the throne room, the doors were opened to welcome them. Inside, King Girsal sat on his throne, accompanied by Iona and Momo on his side on separate thrones.

"Hello, Father," Aurianna greeted with a smile, standing in place.

'She didn't even bow!' Iona bit her lip.

"Good evening, Father," Blade greeted with elegant courtesy.

"What a delightful lady," Iona acknowledged with a nod, before shooting a glare at Aurianna.

"I need both of you to go to Shinia Highland and formally apologize to Prince Dwane on our behalf and also stay there for a month," King Girsal declared, and Aurianna eyed him suspiciously.

"Why do I have to go?" Aurianna asked. "I thought you already apologized, and I heard you sent him to a Saintess, but his condition was still the same."

"Well he did get injured at your party, and it seems they're not willing to accept an apology from an old man. They want one from my two most beautiful daughters," King Girsal explained.

"It's not my fault. You were supposed to protect him," Aurianna shrugged nonchalantly.

"You!" Iona seethed, ready to walk up to Aurianna and teach her a good lesson, but King Girsal raised his hand to stop her.

"Enough bickering," he calmly intervened, and Iona tried to contain her anger.

"But Father, why Aurianna? She doesn't have the best attitude," Blade protested coldly, glancing at Aurianna.

"What did you say???" Aurianna snapped angrily, locking eyes with Blade.

"Well, she's the ideal choice to soothe the heart of an angry king," King Girsal stated, making both Aurianna and Blade perplexed.

"What do you mean, Father?" Blade inquired.

"She possesses charm magic, and a very strong one. She can charm their king and ease their hearts," King Girsal revealed, casting a smile at Aurianna. "Am I not right, Aurianna?" he asked, trying to remain composed but her wary gaze showed that he had caught her off guard.

'Well, he was bound to find out about it sooner or later,' Aurianna sighed reluctantly, meeting King Girsal's cold green gaze.

"Charm their king and his subordinates," King Girsal ordered, and Aurianna nodded.

"Since when did she have charm magic?" Blade asked, surprised.

"I've always had it, dearest sister. How can someone as cute and adorable as me not be able to charm others?" Aurianna declared proudly, placing her hand on her chest.

"Apologies, I misunderstood," Blade admitted. "I just didn't think someone with your character could charm others."

"Don't underestimate me, sister," Aurianna retorted coldly.

"Can you do it, Aurianna?" King Girsal interrupted, looking at her.

"I've never tried charming an Arc Human before, but I'm sure I can give it a shot," Aurianna said with a grin.

"Excellent!" King Girsal beamed, clasping his hands. "Don't let me down. Blade, spy on them and bring back every piece of information you can," he ordered, and Blade gave a polite bow.

"I shall not let you down, Father," Blade stated with a serious tone, earning an approving nod from King Girsal.

"Aurianna, a warning. You can be arrogant in your territory, but in Shinia, don't you dare be arrogant," King Girsal declared coldly, sending chills down her spine with his icy gaze.

'Ugh, this crushing pressure again,' Aurianna thought, nervously meeting King Girsal's eyes and clenching her hand.

"I'll try, but if someone offends me, can I kill them, Father?" Aurianna asked innocently, though her question made Blade tremble a bit.

'Even though I'm older than her, the expression she makes makes me afraid of her. Her gaze reminds me of Father…' Blade thought as she observed King Girsal and then glanced at Aurianna.

"No," King Girsal replied bluntly.

"What a pity. Can I at least beat them half dead?" Aurianna asked.

"No, just report them to the officials there," King sighed, and Aurianna puffed her cheeks.

"Peh, whatever you say," Aurianna huffed, arms crossed.

"You're both dismissed. You'll leave tomorrow," King Girsal said calmly, and Aurianna and Blade left.

"Girsal, I can't understand why you allow her to be so disrespectful towards you. Why not punish her?" Iona asked, leaning in and touching King Girsal intimately, and Momo couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Don't you see the gaze in her eyes? She hates me. And I have no idea what I've done to earn such hatred from her. So I must be extra nice to her so she calms down. Remember, she's a useful asset," King Girsal explained calmly and patted Iona's head, making Momo feel nervous.

"I understand," Iona pouted, and King Girsal chuckled at her expression.

"I shall leave now," Iona said with a polite bow before departing, and Momo followed behind her.

"Chu," King Girsal called out as he noticed Chu entering the throne room.

"Girsal," Chu knelt on the ground, greeting him before getting up.

"Did you manage to get a blood sample from her?" King Girsal inquired.

"I used the checkup as an excuse, as you said, but her body has become strange," Chu nervously blurted out.

"What do you mean?" King Girsal asked curiously.

"No matter how much I tried to pierce her body, it moved as though it had a life of its own," Chu revealed with unease.

"That child was playing tricks again," King Girsal sighed before asking, "So did you get her blood?"

"Luckily I did!" Chu beamed, holding up a small tube filled with clear white blood.

"I offered to spar with her a bit, and she seems much weaker compared to the time of the war. But I can feel that she's much stronger than before. I intentionally injured her and used it as an opportunity to collect some of her blood," Chu explained, earning an approving nod from King Girsal.

"Her summons, that's probably the price of using them. They would take her body parts, her mana, and her strength," King Girsal mused, and Chu nodded in understanding.

"Would she recover, Your Majesty?" Chu asked curiously.

"Oh, she will. Did you see her panic or cry ever since she woke up?" King Girsal asked, and Chu shook his head. "That confident look she has on her face, she's not worried at all, so it means that they'll grow back eventually."

"Where's the blood?" King Girsal asked.

"Right here, King Girsal!" Chu stated, walking up to him and handing him the tube.

"What do you want to do with it, if I may ask?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" King Girsal replied before opening it and gulping down the whole jar.

A sudden change began to happen to King Girsal. His once gray hair turned jet black, and his beard gradually shortened and lost its gray color and got a healthy variant of black. His eyes and skin took on a healthier, more vibrant and healthy appearance, while his muscles became stronger, as well as the mechanical parts of his body, which underwent a significant system upgrade.

"This," King Girsal's hands trembled as he observed a green glow on his skin.

"Your Majesty, you... you've become younger!" Chu gasped, taken aback by the astonishing change.

‘So, this is why he asked me for her blood. To think someone's blood, apart from a Saintess and a Sacred, could do this,’ Chu thought, his gaze fixed nervously on King Girsal.

"Hahahahah, excellent, excellent! She's even better than I thought she was!" King Girsal grinned.

‘I must be patient. I can't just immobilize her and take her blood. I also realized the quality is much better than last year. So it means the stronger she gets, the better her blood. And the possibility of weakening her could lose its effects,’ King Girsal contemplated, nodding in realization. ‘But if she gets stronger it would be harder to take her blood. I just wonder how long this would last for.’

‘This is more serious than I thought. But that child, would she willingly give me blood?’ King Girsal asked himself, immediately sensing the answer as he remembered Aurianna's cold gaze.

“Hahaha, I've never felt like this in 50 years! I’ve never felt so much energy before!” King Girsal laughed heartily.

‘Also, did my Mecha internal systems update?’ King Girsal wondered, suddenly seeing a screen before him which was displaying: [ Your systems have been updated to our latest update. Would you like to connect yourself to the Motherboard system? ]

‘A new update means new weapons. Excellent. I thought I had to go out and hunt a Mecha and take their system. But I guess I don't have to risk my life for that anymore,’ King Girsal contemplated coldly.

“Your Majesty,” Chu called out with a dry voice.

“Ah, sorry for frightening you, Chu,” King Girsal said with a smile.

“If you're worried for my daughter, don't worry. I shall do no harm to her. She's too important and must be taken well care of,” King Girsal reassured, patting Chu lightly on the shoulder.

“I just plan to raise her better,” King Girsal added. “And she has to be more obedient and loyal.”

______

"Aurianna," Blade called out as they strolled side by side through the opulent halls.

"Yes, sister," Aurianna replied, her tone neutral.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other," Blade remarked politely.

"Yes," came Aurianna's blunt response.

"Please, sister, refrain from any misbehavior during our visit. Establishing friendly relations with Shinia Highland is crucial, especially after the Dwane incident. And do ensure you fulfill your role," Blade cautioned, a note of concern in her voice.

"I'll do that, sister," Aurianna replied coldly.

"Furthermore, show more respect to Father and all our mothers. Disrespect won't be tolerated," Blade berated, prompting an eye-roll from Aurianna.

"And what right do you have to lecture me, sister?" Aurianna challenged, fixing Blade with a challenging gaze.

"I don't care if you're stronger than me. But I do know that you're smart enough to tell right from wrong. Just because you're strong doesn't make you a genius. There are many more geniuses out there than you, Aurianna, so don't get too cocky," Blade asserted coldly.

"Then I'll just beat up all those geniuses when I meet them one day. Chi, la, la, la, la!" Aurianna laughed dismissively.

"Now, I shall take my leave, Blade," Aurianna stated politely before departing with a knight.

______

‘Seeing Chu enter just after we left means he's giving my blood to Girsal. Can't believe I fell for that sly old man's tricks!’ Aurianna grumbled inwardly as she dismounted from a Cameo and entered her mansion. 'However, this may work in my favour, knowing my blood is toxic,' She grinned evilly.

"Welcome back, princess!" the servants greeted.

"Pack as many of my clothes as possible. I'm leaving for Shinia Highland tomorrow, as per the king's orders!" Aurianna commanded, and the servants bowed in acknowledgment.

"Yes, princess," they chorused as they accompanied her to her room. The maids went straight to her closet while Aurianna went to her bedroom.

"I must take my most important things with me," Aurianna mumbled as she sneakily looked around and retrieved a black box from under her bed.

"My breast and butt pads, no one can ever know!" she thought, staring at her neatly arranged stash. "I may be ten, but I used to be so damn hot in my twenties! I don't want to go through the pain of looking flat again!" Aurianna lamented inwardly as she stashed some pads into her personal purse.

"I'll hide this stash in my travel bags," she decided, concealing the purse and box under her bed.

At the main palace gates, six large Cameos awaited, two carrying Aurianna and Blade's luggage, and the others for the knights. Fifteen knights, five in platinum armor and ten in golden armor, rode on their droles close to the carriages.

"We shall be leaving, mother," Blade informed Cecilia, who waved goodbye.

During the carriage ride, an awkward silence fell, broken only by the creaking and rattling of the carriage.

"So, Aurianna, would you like to chat as we travel together?" Blade asked with a polite smile, only to receive an eye roll from Aurianna.

"No, I'll just use my phone," Aurianna retorted, producing her phone from her purse. Blade stared at it in shock and confusion.

"A phone? What is that?" Blade inquired, pointing to Aurianna's device.

"Well, how would I expect you to know, sister? This is a phone," Aurianna explained with a cocky smirk. "An extremely upgraded version of a communication cube, a combination of a visual Meimus!" she declared proudly, borrowing Batholem's explanation.

"You can chat, make face calls, play video games!" Aurianna elaborated cheerfully.

"Where did you get that from?" Blade asked, curious about obtaining one.

"I bought it, of course! For 90 platinum coins!”

Blade gasped, almost choking on her own tongue at the exorbitant price. "What the hell?" she exclaimed.

"That's enough to feed our entire palace family for three months!" Blade proclaimed. Given their royal status, their food choices differed significantly from those of ordinary people. They always ate high-tier meat and a selected produce either from their own land or imported.

Even food had its hierarchies; high-level meat from dungeons, the stronger they are, the more delicious they are, with the exception of the poisonous varieties. Due to how dangerous they are to kill, they are extremely expensive to buy and prepare.

Fortunately, their family's wealth could coger their lascivious food and clothing expenditures.

"Father provides you with a lot of stipend, and yet you spend it recklessly!" Blade berated Aurianna.

"I worked for that money! I decide how to spend it!" Aurianna retorted before shifting her attention to her phone.

"Apologies for my rudeness; it's your money, after all," Blade admitted with a nervous smile.

"If I may ask, who made this phone?"

"The Mechas," Aurianna replied nonchalantly, prompting Blade's eyes to widen in shock.

"Why would you buy something from that metal race?!" Blade yelled, furrowing her brows.

"Well, that metal race is undeniably smarter than us, that's for sure," Aurianna replied, taking out a piece of bread from a picnic box beside her and munching on it.

"In the end, they're nothing more than an inferior race!" Blade huffed, and Aurianna scoffed.

"Keep believing that lie."

"Lie? It's not a lie! If the goddess of beauty says they are inferior, then they are inferior!" Blade declared.

“Theawen hufw cheom neo once povooke tham,” Aurianna attempted to say with her mouth full of bread.

"Don't speak with food in your mouth," Blade chided, expressionless.

“Then how come no one dares to provoke them, apart from the Floops, Starlights, and Dragons?” Aurianna asked once her mouth was free. “If you meet a Mecha, do you think you can even win?” she added, eyeing Blade, who shuddered.

"As I thought," Aurianna said, resuming her feast, this time with cake.

"You're quite harsh, little sister," Blade remarked.

Aurianna swallowed the cake before responding, “Well, I shall not tolerate any lies.”