Chapter 195: The Promise with the Princess (33)

Princess Levinde is 34 years old, but because she has advanced to the fourth‑ring magical power, her aging has slowed dramatically, and the royal family's life of luxury makes her look only twenty‑five or twenty‑six.

Her most striking feature is her exceptionally white skin, crystal‑clear like ivory, resembling a piece of white jade; she looks like a statue carved from such jade.

Her second characteristic is an especially broad heart; normally hidden by a modern bodice, but when her true form is revealed, it startles Luosen.

How did Luosen see that?

Of course, he saw it with his eyes.

At this moment, he is in the Princess's chamber, discussing political cooperation with her.

The reason he offers the Princess political asylum is, of course, to manipulate Levinde.

He has already won the food confrontation, so it's time for the second step, which requires the Princess's cooperation.

Since the Princess is an honored guest and the matter is confidential, Luosen took the initiative to come to her residence for secret talks.

According to the plan, he intends to have a private discussion with the Princess and Fujilola.

But Fujilola happens to be away on business, so it becomes a conversation between the two.

The VIP room is warm; despite the winter weather, the temperature feels like late spring, so the Princess is wearing a thin, low‑cut evening‑spring dress.

This is normal attire; noblewomen dress like this in winter.

Inside it's warm and she is dressed lightly; if she were to go outside, she could throw on an expensive fur‑lined long coat, both stylish and warm.

After a few words, the Princess gets up to pour him a drink.

For some reason, her skirt catches on the coat rack by the wall, and a "RIP!" sound of tearing cloth rings out, and the room instantly quakes with thunder.

Luosen's eyes are extremely sharp; with a single glance he sees everything clearly, and he thinks to himself, "Big thunder, little rain—good!"

The Princess seems frozen with fear, standing motionless as the thunder rolls.

Their eyes meet, silence stretches for a long time, only the thunder vibrating slowly with the Princess's breathing.

After a prolonged silence, the Princess's face reddens; she bows to Luosen, whispers an apology, then hurriedly turns and goes to the bedroom.

Luosen stays in the living room, replaying the earlier thunder in his mind: "Hmm~ louder than Weige, truly one—no, two—Platinum Giant Thunders."

Why Platinum thunder?

Because Levinde's capital is Bai Jin Cheng, and the Levinde Royal Family is called the Blood of Platinum.

About ten minutes later, Princess Moli emerges from the bedroom again, now wearing a pink‑green dress, still very light, with a neckline even lower than before.

Luosen instinctively glances, feeling a slight disappointment: "Your Highness, Levinde's royal authority must be reclaimed, right?"

Moli nods without hesitation: "Yes."

"But the fact is obvious: I can't do it alone; I need the Duke's help."

Luosen waits for that line: "Of course I will help you; after all we are both members of the Natural Alliance, and if Levinde falls under demon control, none of us will have an easy life."

"But according to my latest intelligence, the true royal members have likely been killed by Lafengge Quan, who used the Bloodline Fusion Substitute Technique to forge puppets, turning them into Lafengge's mouthpieces."

"Outsiders, unaware of the inner details, can easily be misled by the statements issued by the royal family."

Moli feels a great shock: "This is truly terrifying."

She is very scared, truly scared, and cannot help but hug her arms, pleading softly: "Duke, may I sit beside you to speak?"

Luosen looks at his seat, a single chair that seems ill‑suited for two, but as a gentleman he cannot refuse a lady's request.

He shifts aside, making room: "Certainly, Your Highness."

Moli immediately stands and moves to Luosen's side, and together they cram onto the cramped single leather chair.

The moment she sits, Luosen already discerns her underlying intent, and with a slight shift of thought, understands her purpose.

He thinks it over, doesn't feel resistant, actually finds it fine, and his hand naturally rests on Moli's slender waist.

Moli's body twitches like a mild electric shock, instantly realizing her intent has been detected; she grits her teeth and boldly pulls away.

"Duke, since the Xi La Royal Family now has only me left, I must shoulder the family's continuation, and I must find a powerful father for my future children."

"If the Duke is willing to help me become Levinde's queen, then Levinde's power will be at the Duke's command."

She thinks clearly: the Duke is absurdly strong, and holds an exceedingly high reputation throughout the Natural Alliance.

With his help, she can certainly retake Levinde, but simultaneously Levinde will inevitably fall under this Duke's control.

But he is ultimately just a mortal; he cannot forever control Levinde.

While she lives, Levinde will naturally be under the Duke's control yet also under his protection; when this queen grows old, her descendants will handle their own affairs.

Even if the descendants rebel against the old father's discipline, surely the old father would not truly act against his own offspring.

In short, Levinde's king will certainly still bear the surname Xi La, and she has thus given the family an explanation.

Luosen listens to her words and has his own thoughts.

His goal is to unify the entire Natural Alliance to counter the Radiant Empire.

Of course the Levinde Royal Family can remain, but having the Xi La Royal Family perpetually control Levinde is impossible.

However, everything must proceed step by step.

One should handle a matter only when the timing is ripe.

If done too early, it will be a mess; if delayed, the optimal moment is missed, and other ambitious players might seize the opportunity, adding many unforeseen variables.

Thus, given the current situation, having Princess Xi La control the Levinde Royal Family is a short‑term choice that fits the present reality.

However, after helping the Princess retake Levinde, how to allocate Levinde's power must be thoroughly discussed.

Thinking of this, he opens up and says plainly: "I agree with Your Highness's ideas, but once you become Levinde's queen, a regent minister appointed by me must govern, and you must not interfere with administration."

The Princess thinks it over, fearing she won't have much time to manage state affairs. She has already decided to completely lie low in this life, focusing on raising children, having as many as possible to revive the family's prosperity.

She nods: "Fine, but regarding specific governance, I must retain the final veto power."

Luosen thinks this is undesirable, but if the Levinde queen lacks veto power, she would be no different from a puppet.

Initially, the Levinde populace will likely resist strongly.

He thinks and says: "You may have veto power, but it must not be used lightly; it can be exercised only once per year."

Second time!

The princess haggled in a soft voice, her face pleading.

Luosen didn't really care about the difference between once and twice, but this was his authority, and he couldn't just give it away for nothing.

He smiled and said, 'Your Highness, I can agree to your three veto rights, but shouldn't you pay something?'

Moli, worthy of being an Arcane Master, was decisive; she went 'plop' and knelt before the sofa, completely offering her dignity to Luosen.

Because her mouth was occupied, she simultaneously used Spiritual Whisper to say, 'Duke, is this enough?'

Seeing Levinde's eldest princess kneeling before him, so humbly serving him, Luosen felt extremely delighted.

Ah-ha~~ The taste of power is truly captivating~~

Who would have thought that the princess of one of the three great powers of the alliance would submit so completely before me?

Of course, Luosen was very clear in his heart that the other party was kneeling to the power he possessed, not to his true self.

But at this moment, there's no need to worry about all that, for he is now the embodiment of supreme power.

So, he just needs to fully enjoy this moment.

He raised his hand and gently stroked the long princess's thick, light-gold hair, smiling, 'Your Highness, I am very satisfied, so I agree to your request.'

But I also need to make it clear to you: if the times change in the future and the people no longer support the king, I will not oppose the people's needs, nor will I forcibly suppress rebellious people.

The long princess is also an Arcane Master, and she has a clear perception of the world's changes.

While doing her best to please Luosen, she said, 'I understand; if this really happens, I still hope the Duke will let the Xila royal family retain its honor, just like the Adrian family does now—cough cough~~'

Having this clear awareness is good; then the transition later will be much easier.

Luosen laughed, 'That's only natural, after all the future Xila royal family will also be my descendants; I will naturally let them live good lives.'

Although the long princess put in great effort, she ultimately lacked in this regard; aside from the feeling of mental conquest, the actual experience was not good.

Soon, Luosen had her stop, 'Your Highness, I need a mouth without teeth.'

Moli understood immediately and carried it out.

This time she became more skilled, and also freed the speaking mouth.

'Duke, what exactly do you plan to do? Will you conquer with an army?'

Luosen gave a slight smile, 'There's no need to do that; questioning the little king's lineage is enough.'

'But he hides it extremely perfectly.'

'Indeed perfect, but as far as I know, it's so perfect because of a magic potion's help; in short, as long as Your Highness steps forward and publicly declares the little king's lineage illegal, I'll handle the rest.'

After saying that, he couldn't help but comment, 'Your Highness, I must say, the saliva in your mouth is very abundant.'

He had never seen such abundance.

Moli's cheeks turned as red as fire, 'Duke, there's one more thing: the next king of Levin must be our child.'

Luosen nodded, 'That is beyond doubt.'

Moli was satisfied.

After a while, there was no speech.

After more than an hour, Luosen left the princess's room, walked a few steps down the corridor, and saw the silver-haired Sage Fujiluola.

She was in the VIP area's small garden, watering flowers with a kettle.

She looked at Luosen and smiled, 'Duke, it seems you've already reached an agreement.'

Luosen knew the matter was surely plotted by the Sage; he walked to the side of the corridor, leaning against the pillar, and said, 'Sage, you should know that the Xila royal family cannot possibly fully restore its former glory.'

Fujiluola nodded, 'Of course I know; I also know the Duke's ultimate purpose. And I agree with the Duke's goal, after all a scattered alliance has no future.'

Luosen was very pleased, smiling, 'I need information about Levinde's royal palace, the more the better, especially about a certain imprisoned unlucky potion master.'

Rescuing the court potion master under house arrest is also his promise to Weige.

Fujiluola pointed to the book on the garden stone bench, 'Duke, I had anticipated this and have already prepared it for you.'

'Everything I know is in there; it should be exactly what you want, Duke.'

What a wise Sage!

Luosen opened the book, looked it over, was very satisfied, and asked, 'Sage, do you intend to continue participating in the continent's turmoil, or to quietly enjoy glory?'

'The latter. I'm really old; I just want to live peacefully, not to fight with the youngsters.'

Luosen nodded, 'Then Sage, please stay peacefully at Swan Castle.'

'If you don't want to stay at Swan Castle, you can also freely choose a place in Weilan.'

'Thank you, Duke; Swan Castle is fine, I like this place.'

Fujiluola continued to pick up the small sprayer and leisurely watered the flowers.

(End of chapter)