Vol 4. Chapter 38: Arrangements for the Children

'Still, this really was unexpected...'

Gazing in the direction of Skyvault, Xiao thoughtfully raised a hand to his chin, his black eyes narrowing slightly.

Lady Yumo wanted to compensate Fengling, Xue Tianao's younger sister, because she had personally 'killed' Xue Tianao, while also stabilizing the turbulent situation within the Snow Night Empire. Strictly speaking, that much had been within his expectations.

However,

what surprised Xiao was the reaction of those two little ancestors, Limo and Liyu.

Those two had always despised humans and wished for nothing more than to uproot the Snow Night Empire's forces entirely, yet this time, for the first time ever, they had actually spoken up for that princess in front of Lady Yumo?

The fact that Lady Yumo ultimately chose to support this princess in becoming the new Empress undoubtedly had a great deal to do with Lady Limo and Lady Liyu's persuasion. After all, everyone knew that Lady Yumo had always spoiled her children.

They had only lived together with that princess in the Princess Palace for about a month.

How had they come to like that girl so much?

'How strange...'

Xiao couldn't help sighing inwardly.

At the same time, he also became curious about just how that person named Fengling had managed to get along with those two little ancestors.

...

Hm?

However, just as the black-haired man fell briefly into thought, a powerful yet extremely familiar fluctuation of energy abruptly entered Xiao's perception range. The Black Rose Duke frowned slightly and looked through the window toward the other side of the carriage in confusion.

The next moment,

under Xiao's calm gaze, a petite figure wrapped in dense pink battle aura suddenly came crashing through several large trees before abruptly charging up beside the carriage amid a cloud of dust and swirling snow!

A powerful wave of energy instantly spread outward, causing the warhorses to let out terrified neighs.

Fortunately, the Black Rose Knights were highly skilled riders and quickly brought the restless horses back under control.

As the dust, snowy mist, and dense pink battle aura dispersed, an exquisitely adorable little girl carrying a massive hammer appeared before the Black Rose Knights.

After seeing who the newcomer was, the Black Rose Knights breathed sighs of relief and returned their longswords to their sheaths.

"Lady Qiu."

The knights struck their right fists against their chests and gave the pink-haired girl a standard knightly salute.

Clearly,

the girl who had suddenly charged over was Qiu Mingtong, commander of the Autumnfall Legion and one of the highest-ranking members of the Black Rose Family.

After returning the knights' salute, Qiu Mingtong hoisted the giant hammer onto her shoulder and quickly walked over to Xiao's carriage.

She seemed to have something urgent to discuss with Xiao.

However, just as Qiu Mingtong was about to speak to Xiao through the carriage window, she suddenly discovered an extremely awkward problem.

Namely,

she wasn't tall enough...

The moment they realized this, the surrounding Black Rose Knights sharply sucked in cold breaths.

How old was Qiu Mingtong?

That was a secret.

But according to rumors, she was a powerhouse from the same era as Lord Saiboke.

The main reason she still had the appearance of a little girl was related to malnutrition in her early years and delayed physical development...

Although Lady Qiu Mingtong outwardly appeared not to care about her appearance, everyone in the Black Rose Family knew that she was actually extremely sensitive about her height...

And now,

even after standing on tiptoe, her head still couldn't reach the window. Qiu Mingtong's expression had already begun growing increasingly gloomy, as though she had entered a terrifying state in which she might explode at any moment.

'N-No good!!'

Realizing the danger, the Black Rose Knights immediately drew the swords at their waists and, without saying a word, unleashed one set after another of 'Starburst Stream' upon a massive tree nearby!

In an instant, the enormous tree vanished without a trace.

What replaced it was...

a chair...

Immediately afterward, the Black Rose Knights transformed into several streaks of black light and delivered the chair directly beneath Qiu Mingtong's feet.

Once Qiu Mingtong stepped onto the chair and her head finally reached the carriage window, the dark aura surrounding the girl's face abruptly disappeared, and her usual expressionless face returned.

Only then did the several burly Black Rose Knights breathe long sighs of relief and gracefully withdraw.

...

Xiao, who was sitting inside the carriage, was naturally rather speechless at this.

However, perhaps because he had long since grown accustomed to scenes like this, the Black Rose Duke didn't say anything about it and quickly resumed his usual friendly smile.

"What's wrong, Little Tong? Why did you suddenly come running over to find me?"

"There's something I need to report, Your Grace."

Qiu Mingtong replied respectfully,

"The children we previously rescued from the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church, the children Lady Yumo rescued in Skyvault, and the orphans with a certain degree of aptitude found by 'Etiquette' have all been gathered in Sabelius City, one of the cities within the Black Rose Family's territory. Your secretary, Miss Luowei, sent a message just now asking how these children should be settled."

"Hm? How they should be settled..."

"Yes."

Qiu Mingtong gave a slight nod.

According to the customs established over the past several decades, most of the children preparing to join the Black Rose Family were people Lady Yumo had rescued within the Great Winter Forest.

Only after spending a considerable amount of time living alongside Lady Yumo day and night would they be sent to the Black Rose Family for further training.

Likewise, promising orphans discovered by the Black Rose Family itself would also be sent into the Great Winter Forest to live with Lady Yumo for a period of time, so that their views toward Abyss Demons could be changed.

But now,

Lady Yumo herself had taken human form and left the Great Winter Forest.

In that case, shouldn't their original training program be changed as well?

Meeting Qiu Mingtong's blinking orange-yellow eyes, Xiao narrowed his own slightly and smiled calmly.

He had already considered matters like this

after giving Lady Yumo the transformation magic.

"It really is somewhat troublesome if we can't let those children spend some time with Lady Yumo first. Enmm... Forget it. Tell Luowei to adopt these children according to our standard regulations and begin training them. But don't let them come into contact with dirty work or anything related to Abyss Demons yet. Continue testing them according to the procedures Saiboke and I prepared beforehand. Those who pass can gradually be allowed to learn a little about Lady Yumo's existence and come into contact with some 'kind and friendly' Abyss Demons. ...As for those who fail, those who are unable to change their hostile views toward Abyss Demons, transfer them to other families, or assign them to non-core sectors such as agricultural production, mining, business operations, and so on..."

...

After Xiao finished giving his instructions, Qiu Mingtong nodded repeatedly.

"Understood, Your Grace. I'll tell Miss Luowei as soon as I return."

"Mm... But..."

Xiao raised an eyebrow in confusion and gave Qiu Mingtong, who was peering through the window, a meaningful look.

"Little Qiu, there would've been no rush to tell me about these things until we got back. Since you specifically came all the way out here to find me, there should be something else urgent, right? Did... those little ancestors cause trouble again? Or does Lady Yumo have some instructions?"

"Mm, there is something else."

Qiu Mingtong didn't deny it.

"Lady Yumo has some instructions..."

"Hm? They really are Lady Yumo's instructions?"

After receiving that answer, a rare hint of emotion appeared on Xiao's handsome face, even carrying a trace of displeasure.

"Little Tong, how many times have I told you? Matters concerning Lady Yumo must be handled first. You should've told me that before anything else. ...Sigh, forget it. What does Lady Yumo want me to do?"

"Uh, Lady Yumo, she..."

"What's wrong?"

"She wants to meet with those people from the Elf Race..."

"Meet with the Elf Race? What's so... Hm? Meet with the Elf Race??!!"

In an instant, Xiao's expression changed dramatically.

The friendly smile that perpetually adorned his face and the amiable expression that made it seem as though everything was under his control vanished without a trace.

An intense feeling of unease instantly surged into his heart, turning Xiao's face ashen and incomparably serious.

A terrible premonition abruptly arose within him.

"Did Lady Yumo notice something? Why would she suddenly want to meet the elves?! Could what happened before have been exposed?"

As he spoke, Xiao's black eyes became filled with unprecedented gravity.

However,

after thinking about it for a moment, Xiao rejected his own suspicion.

No.

There was no way Lady Yumo could have realized it.

This time, he had merely 'asked' the elves to help set up barriers around the outskirts of Skyvault, or provide magic scrolls and relevant intelligence. He hadn't made those long-eared fellows directly participate in the battle against the Child of Destiny.

Besides, with their pathetic combat strength, participating in the battle would only have made them a burden...

The Elf Race hadn't appeared in Lady Yumo's field of vision at all. Even if Lady Yumo had doubts regarding the operation in Skyvault, there was absolutely no reason for her to connect it to the elves.

That was Xiao's judgment.

And the facts proved that his judgment wasn't wrong.

After hearing what Xiao had just said, Qiu Mingtong shook her head.

"No, Your Grace. Lady Yumo merely wants to thank the Elf Race."

Upon receiving this answer, Xiao's heart settled considerably.

However,

the next moment, Xiao frowned again.

"Thank them? Why does Lady Yumo want to thank the Elf Race?"

"Uh, actually... enmmm, Lady Yumo seems to want to thank the elves for previously providing the 'Veil of Deception,' as well as for their 'generous' assistance over all these years."

"=-="

After hearing this, Xiao fell into a brief and strangely awkward silence.

Generous?

Those long-eared fellows?

Enmm,

fine, he supposed that counted as generous. At the very least, they had given them quite a lot of things every time.

Although, in the overwhelming majority of cases, they hadn't exactly given those things voluntarily...

"Generous, huh... Fine... Fine, I understand."

"Then, Your Grace, what should we do now?"

"Tell Lady Yumo that the elves will come to visit within the next two days."

"Mm, understood. And what about you, Your Grace?"

"I'll go find some of my old friends among the elves first and get our stories strai—uh, no. I'll go catch up with them and ask for their cooperation while I'm there."

As he spoke, a dark smile containing a deeper meaning gradually appeared on Xiao's handsome face.

Although those long-eared fellows had already been 'disciplined' by him countless times over the years, considering the elves' inherent tendency to court disaster, Xiao felt that, just to be safe, he should first go and have a friendly conversation with them to make sure those fellows wouldn't say anything they shouldn't when the time came...

Otherwise,

his own ass might end up paying the price.

--

Meanwhile,

in the distant Elf Race's camp,

Prince Audom of the Elves, who had finally managed to escape alive from the Abyss Demon horde and was now comfortably enjoying his long-awaited relaxing afternoon tea, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

His brows began twitching wildly as an ominous premonition rapidly spread through his heart like a virus...

In an instant,

Audom jolted upright and, under the confused gazes of the nearby elven maids, suddenly drew the sharp sword at his waist like a madman and vigilantly looked all around him.

'Who is it?! Who the fuck is trying to screw me over again?!'