As the afternoon edged closer to dinner time, Hill Yu finally found a moment and hurried over.
“Willis! Are you alright!?”
Willis was still training with the newly acquired Sakura-Killing Petals when the door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.
Boom!
Willis quickly hid the petals, her eyes twitching as they followed the door being kicked open again, slamming violently against the opposite wall.
The newcomer rushed anxiously to the bedside, turning Willis over and over in a frantic inspection.
“I heard you were attacked again last night? An assassin? What exactly is the Church of Judicature doing? Are you hurt!?”
Hill Yu’s hands reached out, and Willis, just a small magician with no great strength, had her defenses broken within moments.
“Let me see!”
“Alright, alright, Sister, I’m fine, stop looking…”
“Hey! Why are you taking off my clothes? It’s still daytime! At least close the door; I’m not resisting…”
Boom!
The next moment, Hill Yu’s swift strike landed hard on Willis’s head.
“Ouch~ That hurts!”
Holding her head, Willis winced as Hill Yu scolded her with a disappointed smile, “Serves you right!”
“Haven’t I told you to be careful? How did you let the Royal Knight leave your side?”
“What happened last night? Don’t try to fool me—Big Brother and Second Brother are both dead. If you die too, then it’ll only be me and the Third Princess left in the Royal Family!”
Hill Yu’s wide, furious eyes were oddly endearing, and only at times like this did Willis feel a faint warmth.
It was so good to feel cared for.
So, Willis briefly recounted the events of the previous night.
“Oh, now that you mention it, I told that Church official Norman Kev to send the results this morning. It’s already afternoon, so I guess I’m really not well-liked!”
Willis sneered inwardly, already scheming how to get back at that Norman Kev, maybe to the point where he’d lose his job and have to beg on the streets…
But Hill Yu looked at Willis curiously and said, “Norman Kev? I heard the Church officials of rank and above have been getting scolded by Father Emperor in the palace… since this morning.”
Hiss…
Willis drew a sharp breath.
“Since morning?”
“Yeah, Father Emperor is very displeased with what’s happened the last few days. Apparently, he’s planning to reform the Church of Judicature.”
Hill Yu said this as she gave Willis a hard pinch.
“Ow! What are you doing!?”
Willis frowned sharply, but the person in front of her seemed even angrier.
“I want to ask you what you’re doing, Willis! This is about your own safety, yet you don’t bother to find out or get involved, just hiding in this room? Can you be a little more mindful!?”
Hill Yu practically shouted, and Willis involuntarily shrank her neck.
Alright, an angry Sister really was terrifying.
Just then, a commotion arose outside, and Willis and Hill Yu exchanged a glance.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Hill Yu frowned.
“Coincidentally, me too,” Willis pouted.
Soon, someone stood outside the main door, loudly calling out: “By order of His Majesty the Emperor, the two princesses are urgently summoned to the palace!”
Ten minutes later, the two sat silently inside the carriage heading to the Caoque Imperial Palace.
Willis simply gazed out the window at the passing scenery. The previous closeness with Hill Yu seemed to have shifted somewhat.
But this change left Hill Yu feeling a little wistful.
Finally, Hill Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Willis, what do you think Father Emperor wants with us?”
“Not sure.”
Willis kept looking out the window at the sprawling, beautiful, and prosperous Royal City — a rare sight with each step they passed.
Yet beneath the grandeur, Willis knew how much filth was hidden.
Her mind churned constantly, making her gaze seem even deeper than the shadowed pond outside.
“I suppose it’s probably about me, or maybe something else… like being scolded… or something.”
Willis murmured to herself, not quite addressing Hill Yu.
After this brief exchange, Hill Yu fell silent.
Soon they arrived at the palace gates at the heart of the Royal City. Within this towering city-in-city, the palace was protected by a wall over ten meters high.
Though not excessively tall, it radiated solemnity and prestige.
The tower on the city wall gleamed with gold and jade, surrounded by many castle-like buildings.
This was a mixed-style palace from another world; even from afar, Willis could see the towering Main Hall reaching into the clouds.
The carriage clattered over the road as the guards came up, questioned the coachman briefly, then allowed them through without further obstacles.
After passing into a deep, narrow city tunnel and traveling some distance, they reached the vast barracks outside the Main Hall.
Here, sentries were stationed every five steps, patrols every ten, with soldiers fully armored and armed patrolling everywhere.
Stepping down onto the solid ground, Hill Yu reached out and took Willis’s hand.
Then she led her toward the Main Hall.
Climbing the steps, Willis noted there were not many—just two tiers, each about twenty-one steps.
Forty-two steps in total, and the two arrived at the Main Hall’s entrance.
Guards here were fewer, but all around stood formidable experts radiating strong sword intent.
Watching these highly skilled warriors clad in military armor guarding the palace, Willis suddenly snapped back to reality, a terrifying thought flashing through her mind.
As a princess vying for the supreme position, why was there no expert by her side except for Guard Knight Victoria?
And judging by the factions she controlled, besides Ushi City, there was the underground organization called Nightfall.
This group was responsible for gathering intelligence and assassinations, but there were very few reliable people within!
Moreover, judging from last night’s attack, that organization had been completely infiltrated.
Under such circumstances, how could Willis confidently and cleanly deal with the princes who had grown up in the Royal Family, accustomed to endless schemes and betrayals?!
Her own faction was pitifully weak, yet Willis herself was so arrogant and ruthless, her reputation so vile…
Even if rumors said she was skilled in political machinations, the reality was…
For a moment, it felt as if an invisible hand was reaching out to grab Willis.
She abruptly turned around, but behind her…
There was nothing.
A cold sweat broke out across her back, her face pale and fearful as she stood frozen.
Only when Hill Yu urged her did Willis come back to her senses.
Could it be…
All of this…
Willis looked ahead, into the open doors of the Main Hall, where seated in the prime position was the Emperor of the Okam Empire—Lubas Egbert!
A surge of being deceived rose suddenly.
Recalling her memories, Willis seemed arrogant and ruthless, but it was as if someone else was pulling the strings!
At this moment, on both sides of the hall stood not Empire Ministers, but as Hill Yu said, senior leaders of the Church of Judicature.
From the Church officials to Norman Kev, the official who had contact with Willis last night, they were all here.
“Willis, you have arrived.”
Lubas Egbert, the Emperor, closed his eyes resting but spoke softly, then opened them.
The sharp light he revealed instantly shocked everyone present.
Hill Yu pulled Willis inside the Main Hall—the Council Hall—and led her in performing the formal ceremony of subject to sovereign.
“Father Emperor!”