Imperial Capital, the next day, late morning.
Who knew how many strands of dawn had already slipped through the half-open lattice window, passed layer after layer of cloud-patterned silk curtains, and finally crept into the Empress' bedchamber.
Crossing one folding screen after another, climbing several steps, the light barely managed to reach the grand bed at the center of the room.
Upon the spacious European-style bed—slightly disheveled yet undeniably magnificent—white dominated, accented by red, gold, and black, together with the silver-white "satin" spread across it, forming a beautiful tableau.
Gradually, the struggling rays of light dragged their tails forward, illuminating the great bed at the center of the chamber.
"Mm..."
The bright glare disturbed Selene in her sleep. The faint white seemed to pass through her eyelids, reflecting against her pupils and pulling her from deep slumber.
"Let me sleep a little longer..."
Half-opening her eyes, she tilted her head slightly to avoid the somewhat piercing light, drowsily trying to twist her waist and roll aside to escape the sun.
But in the next instant, her brows—already faintly irritated by the sunlight—suddenly furrowed.
Sebas' teachings since childhood were not entirely useless. Instinctive self-discipline made her feel something was amiss.
At this hour, continuing to laze in bed would not be appropriate.
Otherwise, she would have to endure Sebas' nagging again.
Opening her languid eyes fully, her blurred vision snapped instantly into focus. The body that had just been wriggling suddenly exerted force. Selene rolled off the edge of the bed in one smooth motion, her movements supple as though boneless.
Bracing her elbow against the floor, she propelled herself upward, performing something akin to a backward flip in a gymnast's flourish before landing barefoot with fluid grace.
Creak—
"Your Majesty!"
Hearing the movement, Chief Lady-in-Waiting Whitney—who had long been waiting outside the chamber doors—carefully pushed them open and bowed.
"Mm." Selene stretched lazily and yawned, rubbing her eyes with one hand while scratching her slightly messy hair with the other, giving a small nod.
"Yes." Whitney hurried to respond, then waved her hand. The palace doors opened wider, and a procession of attendants entered one after another.
About twenty in total.
Some tidied the bedding, some drew back the curtains, some opened windows for ventilation... each task handled in groups of two or three.
In an instant, the entire bedchamber seemed to come alive.
About five minutes later, completely refreshed and invigorated, Selene stepped out of the chamber surrounded by attendants.
"Haa... I feel alive again. Proper sleep really is beneficial for body and mind. The ancients were right."
"Your Majesty, did the ancients truly say that?"
Sebas emerged from the shaded corridor of the palace pavilion, his tone carrying an unmistakably peculiar inflection.
In private, Sebas addressed Selene as Milady to show intimacy. Most of the time, however, in order to reinforce her authority, he made no special exceptions and uniformly addressed her as Your Majesty.
"Oh, don't worry about it. As long as it's correct, that's what matters," Selene replied calmly.
"Rising close to eleven in the morning is hardly a healthy sleep habit, Your Majesty. Too early or too late, too little or too much—none of it is advisable."
Sebas smiled as he spoke, engaging in banter that no one else would dare participate in.
"Lord Sebas." Whitney bowed naturally, then stepped back three paces, yielding the closest position beside Selene. Sebas seamlessly filled the space.
"Hmph. This is harmful, that is harmful. Living in such a 'healthy' way would be terribly dull."
"It is not impossible. Everything simply requires moderation. Occasionally serving as seasoning for life can be enjoyable. But as a constant habit? That would not be wise."
"Yes, yes. Old Master Sebas, I understand," Selene said dismissively.
Following behind Selene and Sebas, the attendants all wore faint smiles. In the Empire, perhaps only here in the bedchamber, and only in Sebas' presence, would Her Majesty behave like this.
To her, Arisa was more like a child. Their interactions resembled those of sisters. She could never fill the role of mentor and friend as Sebas did.
"Your Majesty, breakfast has been prepared. Also, this is the candidate list for planetary governors directly under the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
"Mm. Oh, right—one more thing. Kiana and the others. Instruct Esdeath to bring them into the palace. It's time to make arrangements for them."
"As you command."
...
Elsewhere, at the Palace Annex.
"Heh, see? Whatever you can do, this Immortal can do too—and even better."
Same scene, same flavor. After one night, Senti felt like she was unstoppable again.
"Yes, yes." Fu Hua replied calmly. "I am fully aware that you can certainly do it. Possessing my memories is equivalent to possessing my experiences. If you couldn't..."
"Would that make you... a fool?"
Afraid the unruly child might start another commotion, Fu Hua deliberately chose a relatively mild word, speaking in an exceedingly flat tone tinged with something indescribable.
"Ahhh—!"
Unskilled yet addicted—that was Durandal's assessment.
She had originally intended to speak bluntly, but considering Senti's strong pride, she swallowed her words.
Learning the truth of her identity, recovering her childhood memories, enduring the upheaval of living under another's roof... all of this had made Durandal far more mature.
Once known as a Valkyrie famous for her straightforwardness, rigidity, and strict seriousness, she now understood the need to consider others' emotions.
She would no longer stubbornly push advice onto someone simply because it was logically correct.
In truth, the former Durandal had been utterly sincere and direct—almost to the point of being dense. As a child, she had even been criticized by orphanage tutors for being slow-witted.
When taking orders from Theresa, she had repeatedly lectured her over her laziness, to the point that Theresa found her unbearably irritating.
"Isn't this rather nice, Lady Durandal?" Rita said slowly, her gaze warm and slightly envious. "Doesn't this simply show how close the two of them are?"
"Uh..."
Shifting her gaze away from the two 'Fu Huas' who had resumed their verbal sparring, Raiden Mei spoke with faint concern.
"Principal, are you truly alright? According to the attendant's notice, we'll be summoned into the palace today." Please don't let anything go wrong.
"Ahem!" As though she had already emerged from her inner turmoil, Theresa patted her flat chest and declared loudly, "Who do you think I am?! I'm your principal! As your elder—and as the former Archbishop of Schicksal—how could I let you face this alone?"
"Um, just saying, I think I'm older than you," Pardofelis interjected, raising a paw.
"..."
Interrupted mid-momentum, Theresa's small face instantly darkened.
"Cat-head, shut up!"
"So fierce. But I'm not scared of you," Pardofelis said lazily. "Just a friendly reminder—getting angry accelerates aging, meow~"
She wasn't familiar with this white-haired loli who had barely spoken and seemed withdrawn the entire journey. And she certainly wasn't afraid.
What, was Theresa going to set her tail on fire? With that milk-fierce look, she wasn't exactly intimidating.
Sitting cross-legged on the cushion, Pardofelis muttered, "If only Sister Snake hadn't left first..."
After calming the bristling Theresa, Kiana asked curiously, "Pardofelis, where did Senior Mobius go?"
"Not sure," Pardofelis shrugged. "I only know Sister Snake's positioning is different from us combatants. She's more of a researcher. Earlier, a group of uniformed weirdos came and took her away."
She paused, folding her arms and tilting her head in thought.
"It was kind of like..."
"Like what?"
"Hmm... I just feel like their aura was very similar to Sister Snake's."
"Imperial Science Bureau," Fu Hua added as she returned triumphantly after suppressing the rebellious Senti.
"From what Her Majesty previously implied, Mobius, Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla, Director Nagamitsu—whether from Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, or World Serpent—most technical personnel will likely be reorganized and absorbed into the department known as the Imperial Science Bureau."
"And then," Fu Hua adjusted her red-framed glasses, her expression complicated, "they will develop and manufacture even more destructive war machines for the Empire."
"And we... will be the executioners."
"..."
Just as the atmosphere grew heavy, Senti resurrected at full health.
"Yo. That's not your usual style," she said mockingly.
"But then again—only like this can we climb to high positions within the Empire and protect Shenzhou. Protect our homeland."
"As for everyone else? Pah, pah, pah. Can you even manage that? A clay bodhisattva crossing a river can barely protect itself. Your own mess isn't sorted out yet, and you want to play savior? Give it a rest. Impossible."
"Each and every one of you looks like some grand saint worrying about the fate of the world, itching to save all sentient beings. It's all daydreaming! No matter how much you think about it, it's useless nonsense!"
"Instead of wasting time, think about how to earn merit in the future. Once you become landed nobles, once you have power and influence—so long as you pay your taxes on time, you can run your territory however you want."
After finishing, Senti cast a disdainful look at the dazed crowd in the hall, carrying the air of someone sober while all others were drunk.
Like Fu Hua, Senti had also skimmed through parts of the Empire's records. Unlike Fu Hua, however, she had only flipped through a few pages before tossing the book aside.
Between the lines, every punctuation mark reeked of hierarchy and privilege.
Perhaps that was precisely what made the Holy Selene Empire so intriguing.
Policy-wise, imperial natives were prioritized, followed by residents of subordinate worlds under each legion. On the surface, it resembled racialism.
Though that stance undeniably provoked resentment from other worlds, in actual governance the imperial government—or rather, Selene herself—displayed astonishing decisiveness in employing talent.
Not only humans from conquered worlds—even talented individuals from alien races were accepted without hesitation.
In word and deed, Selene was undeniably a thorough authoritarian, hegemon, and autocrat. Yet at the same time, she was completely meritocratic.
Birth and background meant nothing. Ability meant everything.
The Empress valued the strong, the capable, the talented—and despised the weak and mediocre.
Though a firmly drawn red line always existed, she tolerated the willfulness of the talented far more than the incompetence of the useless.
By now, countless long-standing noble houses within the Empire had been stripped of their titles after being deemed incompetent by the Empress. At the same time, countless remarkable figures had forged brand-new hereditary titles under her banner.
Among them were not only imperial natives, but also warriors from the Servitor Army and even gifted individuals from alien races.
That was what Senti had observed from her own perspective. She felt Fu Hua and the others simply overthought everything.
Want to implement your ideals?
Fine. Become a landed noble first.
Forget ruling a patch of land—you could rule an entire planet if you wanted.
Just pay your taxes.
"You're all hopeless!" Senti declared, raising her fist and turning her thumb downward flamboyantly.
Just as everyone fell into contemplation after her lengthy speech—
"An astute remark. Only thus will matters develop as you desire. Empty fantasies are useless."
A deep, hoarse voice with a metallic timbre cut into the hall.
Under everyone's gaze, a Royal Guard clad in golden armor stepped in through the still-open sliding doors.
Because the architecture of the Imperial Capital was constructed on a grand scale for special considerations, the Royal Guard did not need to lower his head.
"Everyone. Her Majesty summons you. Please depart at once."
Without unnecessary movement, his massive shadow swallowed Theresa entirely.
...
Grand Imperial Palace — Schönbrunn Palace, outer court, reception hall of the front palace.
Esdeath and Arisa strolled up the long staircase together. The latter seemed in high spirits, swinging her arms as she chattered nonstop.
She excitedly asked Esdeath about her experiences dealing with Anti-Entropy.
"The Queen said the Valkyrie units will be placed under my command. And you'll personally assist me? Wow! I'm so happy!" Arisa exclaimed, gesturing animatedly.
"Oh right, those elites you trained—how are they? What's your evaluation, Esdeath?"
"Hard to say." Stroking her chin as she walked, Esdeath replied, "On paper, their potential is unquestionable. But their temperaments... I plan to temper them a bit."
"I've roughly decided on the trial world. It's that primitive world discovered by your Sisters of Battle unit."
"The conflicts between magical beasts, demi-humans, alien races, and medieval human civilizations there won't pose a problem in terms of strength. What I want to see is whether they can harden their hearts..."
"I'm curious about the choices they'll make."
"I want to go too!"
"You?" Esdeath looked at the innocent and adorable Arisa and shook her head firmly. "No. Absolutely not. Don't even think about it."
Those disgusting creatures—even Esdeath found them an eyesore.
"Aww. What exactly are they? Arisa's curious."
"No means no. Unless, Arisa, you obtain Her Majesty's approval." Esdeath smoothly passed the responsibility upward.
As she spoke, Esdeath sensed something and turned around with a grin.
"There. Arisa—the main characters have arrived."
"They're the future high-ranking officers of your Valkyrie forces."