Chapter 113

Chapter 113

"...In short, that's the situation. As the 'Iron-blooded Thorns that Guard the Royal Family,' the Fourth Legion has been stationed near the Capital Star year-round, always ready to eliminate destabilizing elements and rebellious factors within the empire. Within the internal forces of the Cavendish family, and even across the entire Imperial Legions, the Fourth Legion is considered a relatively radical faction."

"So you must be extremely cautious. For such an unpredictable extremist, no amount of vigilance is excessive."

Moonlight spilled like quicksilver onto the ground, and the rustling shadows of trees swayed like specters from campus ghost stories.

Two tall figures stood about an arm's length apart. One had silver hair tied high and wore a sharp suit—she seemed more suited for a high-profile press conference than this clandestine scene. Opposite her, a slightly shorter girl casually let her long hair fall over her shoulders, the strands still fluffy from being freshly washed and dried. Beneath her pure black trench coat were soft pajamas printed with bears wearing sleeping caps. Her eyelids drooped halfway as she listened to Sophia recount the Fourth Legion's rise to prominence.

The military training instructor was extremely demanding. After running fifty kilometers in the morning, they spent the afternoon drilling military commands and practicing martial arts formations. After a full day of grueling training, she appeared to be standing there just fine, but in reality, her mind had checked out a while ago.

Eve idly fiddled with a round signal jammer. Thanks to this little device, Sophia dared to sneak into First Empire Academy to report these matters in person.

"Alright, dear," she finally interrupted her subordinate's rambling report, looking weary. "Next time, if you just need to report these things, you can simply send me a holographic call. There's no need to go through the trouble of sneaking in just for matters I could find out about even if you didn't come."

Eve had always been clear about Sophia's capabilities. Unlike the far-sighted strategic prowess of the Spiritual State Xiaomeng Eagle, Sophia possessed a keen instinct for analyzing situations and making decisions that favored advantage and avoided harm. This was precisely why Eve kept her in the princess's residence: with the domineering Fourth Princess herself already there, having a cautious and prudent proxy communicator helped balance the faction's overall style.

...Though this time, she might have been a bit too cautious.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Sophia's face. She knew she hadn't handled this well, but it was largely due to the less motivated staff at the princess's residence—not that they were completely useless, but without Eve monitoring them from behind the one-way mirror, their efficiency had noticeably dropped.

She scratched her head, grateful she had prepared something else to divert Eve's attention. Digging into her coat pocket, Sophia pulled out a silver ring and handed it to the girl who glanced over. "The Mythological Mecha you entrusted to the family for repairs is now fixed. The Luo clan also helped update the Alchemical Formula on the mecha."

"So fast." Eve's expression softened slightly. She twirled the mech activation button, gave it a quick inspection, then slipped the ring onto her middle finger. "I thought it would take at least ten days or so."

"Your matters are always treated as top priority by the family head and the eldest young master."

"We shouldn't speak like that in public," Eve chuckled lightly. "Until the situation is clear, the Medici family shouldn't get too close to me. Don't compare me to the family head or them."

"Yes." Sophia respectfully folded her left arm across her chest and bowed.

She was about to say more when her expression suddenly changed. Her sharp, light-blue eyes fixed on a dwarf myrtle bush not far from them. With a soft click, she drew a specially modified silenced laser pistol from her waist, raised it, and hissed under her breath, "Who's there?"

The night was dead silent. The lurker behind the tree seemed stunned, not fleeing; only the purplish-red flowers on the branches trembled faintly along with the twigs.

Eve looked up, staring at the treetop. As if struck by a thought, a pale golden light flew from her shoulder—the Luna Butterfly. It flew straight toward the fragrant flowering branches and finally settled on a vibrant purple bud.

Sophia heard Eve sigh very softly, a sound filled with understanding, helplessness, and a touch of amusement. Then Eve lowered the poised gun.

With just two slender, pale fingers, she effortlessly pressed down the dark laser barrel.

"It's an acquaintance," she said, amused. "Well, not exactly—it's not human."

Sophia: "...Huh?"

Then she watched as her boss lazily clapped twice. A soft rustling sound followed, like petals and leaves brushing together, or perhaps the sound of a boneless reptilian creature slithering across the ground.

A shadow, deep as a water stain, slid across the ground and then climbed up the hem of Eve's nearly floor-length black trench coat until it reached her left arm. Only then did Sophia realize with astonishment that the shadow was a jet-black serpent without a single speck of color, its small triangular head adorned with an unbloomed exotic purple flower.

The serpent had a pair of emerald-green vertical pupils. After nuzzling the girl's fingertips, it froze in place. The Luna Butterfly remained perched on the flower bud on its head the entire time.

"What is this?" Sophia asked, having never seen such a strange creature before.

"A friend's... pet. Probably escaped again because it wasn't properly contained." Before Sophia could ask endless follow-up questions, Eve cut her off. "What else did you want to say earlier? Finish up so you can go. With the Fourth Legion's people temporarily staying in the First Empire, be careful not to get caught."

"No need to rush me out like that. These little guys would still have to respectfully call me senior if they saw me..." Sophia muttered in complaint.

But the look Eve shot her was clearly one of dismissal. Sophia swallowed her words and obediently relayed the final matter: "I've compiled the matters of the princess's estate into a report and sent it to your terminal. Please review it as soon as possible. As for the matter you entrusted the princess to investigate, our backend used the royal family's surveillance authority to search the entire Starnet and determined that the rumor likely originated from one of the two subordinate families of the Luo clan, the Qi or Du clans. Further tracing will require more investigation. I wanted to ask how deep you want us to go?"

"What rumor?" Eve was taken aback, thinking for a moment before she remembered and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I later added that we didn't need to worry about this. Why did you still investigate?"

Sophia looked even more confused than her. "Huh? But the princess personally gave the order. We didn't know you had retracted it."

"She really... Whatever, it's not a big deal anyway. No need to waste resources on it. Don't investigate further, and make sure to erase all traces later."

Though I never expected the Luo clan to be this bored.

Eve curled her lip, turned, and started to leave. After two steps, she turned back. "Wait, since you're on the Capital Star now, do you still have access to military system access privileges?"

"Probably," Sophia frowned in thought. "But I don't have much use for it here. If I do, it should be lieutenant-level access."

The empire's military ranks, from highest to lowest, start with the Grand Marshal, who has direct control over all legions. Currently, the only Grand Marshal in the empire is from the Cavendish family. Next are Sector Commanders, who command military forces in a star region. There are only three Sector Commanders in the entire empire: one from the Otto family, one of common origins who sides with the Cavendish family, and one from the Medici family—the last bit of military influence left to the family by Marshal Maria centuries ago.

Legion Commanders and Deputy Corps Commanders lead single legions with millions of warships and billions of troops, enough to suppress an entire star system. However, the management structure isn't directly aligned—the empire has 32 star systems but 54 legions. The most prestigious and powerful are the Nine Great Legions, and officers in these legions hold higher status than those of the same rank in others.

Below Legion Commanders (equivalent to generals) and Deputy Corps Commanders (equivalent to lieutenant generals) are the more commonly known ranks: major general, senior/mid/junior colonel, senior/mid/junior lieutenant, senior sergeant, first-class soldier, second-class soldier, and so on.

Sophia originally held the rank of Artillery Sergeant Junior Grade, a position with some power but not much, though she was young and had room for advancement. Then Qin Mengde arrived and promoted her two ranks, finally making her a somewhat respectable lieutenant.

"Go back and check, then grant me temporary access. I might need them."

Sophia: "Uh, but military access credentials are strictly managed and tied to the holder's biometric data. It might not be easy to lend them to you."

"Take that kind of problem to the princess," Eve said, already preparing to leave and sounding impatient. "She's very good at handling such things."

...What kind of things? Irregular operations?

Sophia had a feeling her superiors' operations were even bigger than she imagined, but Eve had already walked away, leaving behind only an unhurried figure.

She sighed silently, her expression serene.

Oh well. After all, her role was just to be a messenger. Let the other boss handle the thinking.

"So why are you here?"

Once back in her dorm, Eve closed the door behind her, leaned against it, and reached out with her right hand to gently squeeze the Wall-Imprisoned Serpent's small, inverted triangular head. It felt smooth and cool to the touch. Puzzled, she asked, "Why are you still wandering around outside... Doesn't your owner keep an eye on you?"

The Wall-Imprisoned Serpent seemed in good condition, not as if it lacked nourishment from the spiritual realm. For it to be slithering around late at night, aside from Lorca neglecting it, Eve couldn't think of any other reason.

"Hss—" The serpent flicked out a slender, forked tongue, its emerald-green eyes looking innocently at Eve. Then it coiled itself into three loops around her left wrist, its scales glossy and tightly arranged, resembling a premium obsidian bracelet.

"Hss, hss."

It was quite domineering, seemingly determined to settle on her wrist.

Eve stared unblinkingly at the green-eyed serpent until it let out another appeasing "hss, hss," its body twisting slightly and its coils tightening a bit more.

It also looked rather pitiful.

"Fine, since I can't get rid of you anyway." The Wall-Imprisoned Serpent could hide in shadows. If it didn't want to leave, even if thrown out, it would find a way back in.

Eve gave up arguing with it, gave the serpent's head a final pinch, and released it. "Stay for now. When I have time, I'll return you to your owner."