The Villain’s Cheat Code: When a Gamer Becomes the Evil God’s Sidekick-Chapter 434: Clearly, I Was Here First…
As soon as Emperor Aubrey finished speaking, Lia covered her mouth in shock.
Her eyes widened as she looked around.
Yet she noticed that neither Cocotte nor Vinia showed any sign of surprise.
The trembling crimson light cast upon Aubrey's hunched figure only accentuated his weathered appearance.
"But... but..."
Lia recalled what Viktor had told her before—
The Emperor only had two years left to live.
Even now, shouldn't there still be a year and a half remaining?
She raised her head to look at Aurelianne, hoping to find some answers.
But she discovered that Aurelianne wasn't particularly shocked.
She merely kept her head down in silence, her brows furrowed and eyes filled with reluctance.
As if she had known about this all along, displaying remarkable composure.
Lia fell silent, then heard the elderly Aubrey, leaning on his cane across from her, speak kindly:
"I know what you want to say."
"In truth, two years was merely the most conservative estimate."
Now, Aubrey could feel his body deteriorating with each passing day.
He needed an extended period of rest to ensure he would still be alive when Aurelianne ascended to the throne.
This way, even if the empire faced a major crisis, he could at least awaken during that time.
To clear the final obstacles for the empire.
Of course, the best outcome would be for him to fall into eternal sleep.
Until the moment his life naturally ended, with the empire remaining worry-free throughout.
But this would be difficult to achieve.
Or rather, the possibility was extremely remote.
"The empire now is not what it was when I first took the throne."
Aubrey had ruled for decades, maintaining peace and stability throughout the empire.
This was precisely because of Aubrey's immense personal combat prowess—no one dared to defy his rule.
Now, his life was coming to an end.
Even though he had not yet departed, undercurrents were already stirring within the empire.
Factions were forming, opposing one another.
And various external forces were coveting this sacred imperial territory.
Therefore...
"All I can do is make my daughter, Aurelianne, the ninth emperor of the empire."
After saying this, Aubrey slightly turned his head to one side.
His aged face appeared flushed under the illumination of the crimson furnace fire.
His cloudy yet loving gaze fell upon the dejected Aurelianne.
Hope flickered in his eyes like silver-white light.
...
The evening breeze gently swept through as night fell, adorned with scattered, twinkling stars.
White clouds tinged with faint inkiness by the night slowly drifted beneath the sky, stretching into long streams.
Aurelianne escorted Lia and the others toward the exit of the imperial palace.
Afterward, they had discussed various matters with the Emperor, primarily focusing on establishing diplomatic relations between the Elven Forest and the Empire.
Particular attention was given to priority trade issues. The conversation between the Emperor and the Elven Queen covered numerous key points.
However, Aurelianne hadn't absorbed any of the specific content.
Her mind was in complete disarray, so chaotic that even the cool evening breeze couldn't soothe her restless heart.
Along the way, Aurelianne remained silent.
Until the four of them walked out of the palace in silence, and Lia and Vinia approached the carriage.
The carriage had a gold-embossed emblem carved on its compartment.
It was the Kravina family crest.
Aurelianne looked up at Cocotte, who was sitting on a cloud, her eyes filled with conflict.
Her lips trembled, and she finally couldn't help but ask Cocotte:
"Councilor Yade."
"My father, does he truly have little time left?"
Cocotte sat cross-legged on the cloud, exchanging glances with Vinia who stood beside Lia.
She hesitated slightly, but ultimately nodded reluctantly to Aurelianne.
This was why they weren't surprised when Aubrey said his time was running out.
As elves, they possessed the ability to perceive the essence of life.
Aubrey's vital energy remained as vigorous as in his youth.
Thus, his former strength had persisted until now.
But as a human, the robustness of his physical form came with a heavy price.
The limit of human lifespan was an inescapable fate.
Even though Aurelianne was a necromancer, she was equally powerless.
The end of life was a natural limit.
At least for now, no magic could reverse this law.
Yet Aurelianne still refused to give up, continuing:
"But, that dew..."
She had heard that at today's court meeting, the elves had presented the extremely rare elven dew.
It was said that only two drops were produced each year.
Most crucially, this legendary dew was celebrated for its miraculous life-extending effects.
If it could be used on her father's body...
However, Lia's words mercilessly shattered her fantasy:
"That was just said for others to hear."
The so-called dew from the Elven Forest was actually just the dewdrops that elves drank every day.
If humans consumed it regularly, it could indeed have some health benefits,
But the miraculous effect of extending life was clearly impossible.
Not to mention, Aubrey's condition was already like a candle in the wind, beyond salvation.
Hearing Lia's words, Aurelianne's mood grew increasingly heavy.
Lia looked at her and sighed helplessly:
"If you pay a little attention to today's events, you'll understand."
Lia had seen everything that happened in the palace today with perfect clarity.
All the ministers realized that Aubrey's life was coming to an end.
They were eager to support the next leader of the empire to secure their own positions, or even gain more power.
The return of the Reiser family and the eagerness of the nobles were clear evidence of their dissatisfaction with Aubrey's designation of Aurelianne as his successor.
Under such pressure from both sides, to stabilize the current emperor's final rule,
The Kravina family had no choice but to reveal the elves' trump card.
Only by making those nobles understand how rare the elven dew was could they believe
That the dew had life-extending properties.
After all, none of them had ever been to the Elven Forest, so the elves could fabricate whatever story they wanted.
Everything in the imperial palace hall, from the elves' presence to the dew in the leaves, was nothing more than a show.
This 'life-extending' dew was merely a temporary measure to maintain Aubrey's influence.
To make other nobles understand one thing: even though he was about to abdicate, this invincible emperor was not dead.
By now, Aurelianne's mood had become even more downcast.
In truth, she knew all this well.
But she couldn't accept it.
Not long ago, she had painfully experienced the loss of a loved one.
Although she had never met her mother, the memories at her mother's grave at her grandfather's home and the pain of separation still lingered in her heart.
Now, her father was also about to leave her.
In fact, she had been aware of this issue from the beginning.
It was when her father decided to make Viktor her magic teacher.
At that time, Aurelianne was still inexperienced, her mind not yet mature, completely unaware of the fact that her loved one was about to depart.
Or rather, she simply didn't want to think about it.
Aurelianne clutched the blue crystal pendant on her chest, closed her eyes, and felt the cool evening breeze brush across her face.
Finally, Aurelianne took a deep breath:
"...I understand."
"I want to see my teacher."
Actually, Aurelianne had been looking forward to her teacher's presence today.
But her expectation was ultimately disappointed.
Because Viktor did not appear.
Lia also put her hands on her hips and sighed helplessly:
"He hasn't been home since yesterday, and he didn't even show up today."
"When he returns, I'll have him come find you."
After speaking, Lia turned to open the carriage door, and Vinia boarded the carriage with her.
As the door closed, just before departing, Lia poked her head out from the window.
Looking at the disappointed Aurelianne, she said soothingly:
"Your Highness, it's cold outside. Go back and rest early."
With that, she drew the carriage curtain again.
Cocotte, sitting on the cloud, looked at the silent and heartbroken Aurelianne, and could only sigh helplessly:
"I'm an elf, I can't understand human emotions."
"But there's a saying that's quite universal, and I think I can offer it to you."
As Cocotte said this, she straightened her posture slightly.
Looking at Aurelianne's eyes brimming with tears, she said solemnly:
"Become stronger."
"Make all the voices that question you fall completely silent."
Aubrey's invincible strength had prevented anyone from criticizing his rule for decades.
It was precisely because he possessed absolute power that those self-important humans had to keep their mouths shut.
If you want to intimidate the entire empire, just become stronger than Aubrey.
After saying these words, Cocotte patted the cloud beneath her, which carried her to the top of the carriage.
"Let's go."
The servant raised the reins, urging the horses forward.
The wheels turned with a rumbling sound as they rolled over the road, and the carriage drove away into the distance.
Only Aurelianne remained standing in place, her silver hair casually tousled by the evening breeze.
She placed one hand on her chest.
Feeling the thumping of her heart, heavy like a giant furnace.
Dull, solemn, and dangerous.
Like thunder.
...
The capital, Delin Mansion.
Knights in shining armor were stationed throughout the courtyard.
The family crest, formed by two crossed longswords, stood out on the wall, exuding authority and nobility.
The entire courtyard was immersed in silence, with only the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze breaking the quiet.
Yet the knights remained vigilant in their duty.
In contrast, the mansion's training ground was not quiet at all.
As usual, Gwen was swinging her blade, each of her strikes creating a long rift of air waves.
The resonance of sword strikes continuously echoed in her ears.
Although it was already late at night, Gwen was still drenched in sweat, her arms aching.
She repeated her movements, pursuing perfection in each attempt.
At this moment, a figure with purple hair appeared in the training ground, looking mysterious against the night.
Kevla's face bore a subtle strangeness, her steps light and slow as she approached Gwen.
"Gwen, stop for a moment, don't practice anymore."
Seeing Kevla, Gwen expressionlessly sheathed her sword, not even wiping away the beads of sweat on her forehead.
"Sister, what is it?"
Kevla coughed lightly, seemingly organizing her thoughts:
"Um, well,"
She hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"Viktor is at the door."
Upon hearing the three words "Viktor," Gwen's instinctive reaction made her body lean forward.
As if in the next second, she was ready to rush to the door.
But her steps had barely begun when they were stopped by Kevla's words:
"Wait, don't rush."
"Viktor asked me to tell you something first."
Gwen halted her steps. Although eager at heart, she still quietly looked at Kevla, waiting for her next words.
Kevla seemed to be struggling to find the right words.
After a while, she finally tugged at the corner of her mouth and stammered to Gwen:
"It's like this..."
"Viktor wants me to tell you..."
"I'm sorry." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Chapter 434: Clearly, I Was Here First…
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