Volume 10, Chapter 24 – The New God-Forged Angels

As night fell, Bradley, dressed in magnificent robes, quietly approached Adonis from behind. Ever since sending the First Princess off that morning, His Majesty had been completely absent-minded. No matter what he said to her, she always looked as if she were just snapping back to reality. Case in point, this Majesty, whom he regarded as his own child, had been staring blankly out the window for a full hour.

Could it be that His Majesty is uneasy because of the upcoming negotiations with the demons? But His Majesty was not a person who feared strong enemies; in most situations, she was extremely firm. Bradley, unable to understand the reason, could only ask softly.

“Your Majesty, what is wrong with you today?”

“Hm?”

Adonis turned her head, a look of surprise on her face. The worry on Bradley’s face deepened. His Majesty hadn’t even noticed someone quietly approaching her. This was not a good sign.

“Ah, Bradley, it’s you.” Adonis smiled and beckoned, gesturing for Bradley to sit. “What is it, coming to find me in the middle of the night again?”

“This subject is very concerned about Your Majesty’s mental state.”

Widening her red eyes in surprise, Adonis leaned back slightly and spread her hands out to her sides.

“Mental state? Am I not in high spirits?”

“But your actions this morning were very unusual. Even if there is no residence in the city suitable for royalty, we should not have let Her Highness the First Princess stay in a dirty inn used by sailors and traveling merchants. If other subjects were to see this, it might arouse suspicion, leading them to believe you and Her Highness are not on good terms and that you are deliberately sidelining her. We should have dispatched someone to invite Her Highness to come and live with you.”

Adonis rarely had the inclination to vacation in any particular place, so there was no dedicated residence for her in Wilfred City. Her current lodging was an inheritance left by the former emperor long ago—a three-story building indistinguishable from an ordinary noble’s mansion.

Speaking of this, Bradley adopted a gentle, persuasive expression.

“Her Highness the First Princess and Your Majesty have not seen each other for a long time. Your Majesty needs to spend time with Her Highness to gradually cultivate a bond. As for her… strange temperament… it is merely because she is unfamiliar with you. As long as we make her understand Your Majesty’s charm, I believe everything will be resolved.”

Bradley had already learned from General Carl that Camilla had slapped Adonis that morning. When he first heard it, he was so shocked his mouth hung open for a long time. Fortunately, Carl explained that Adonis had not held Camilla’s disrespectful behavior against her, which finally allowed Bradley to breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that the royal family consisted of only Adonis and the Third Princess Vina, the sudden appearance of an imperial sister just a few years younger than Adonis was even more delightful than the empire recapturing the Hels Kingdom. Bradley could almost picture their offspring treating him like a horse, riding on his neck. That must be what people call familial bliss. The mere thought was enough to make Bradley laugh himself awake from a dream.

A person of his age could no longer think of siring his own offspring, so he could only pin his hopes of nurturing a ‘grandchild’ on Adonis. Bradley was not the only one with this wish; the senior officials of the empire, veterans of two reigns, all shared this idea.

So it’s finally come?

Unable to suppress the delight in her heart, Adonis couldn’t help but smile, gleefully picking up the teapot on the table and pouring Bradley a full cup of hot tea.

“Bradley, you can’t blame me for this.”

Bradley accepted the teacup with a grateful expression.

Rеaԁ οո ΚαtRеаԁiոɡСаfе

“This subject understands. But Her Highness the First Princess is your imperial sister. Even if she hit you, you should not hold a grudge against her. Her Highness has been wandering among the common people for so long; we owe her far too much.”

“No, I’m not referring to her hitting me.” In fact, I wish my dear sister had hit even harder, Adonis thought, saying casually, “Bradley, did Carl not tell you? My imperial sister hates men. She didn’t hit me because the royal family let her wander among the commoners. It was because I tried to give her a welcoming hug, and that’s why she slapped me.”

“Er, this…” Bradley hadn’t heard Carl mention this. He opened his mouth slightly in surprise. “Her Highness the First Princess hates men ?”

“Of course. Why would I lie to you about something like this, Bradley?”

The teacup he had just picked up was set back down. Bradley’s brows furrowed tightly.

“Why? Was Her Highness harmed by a man when she was young?”

Bradley was not ignorant of the treatment a helpless, beautiful royal princess might receive wandering among the common folk. If she had been harmed by a man with malicious intent, leading her to hate men, then he would have to reconsider whether she should return to the royal capital. A First Princess who had lost her purity was not qualified to be an object of universal admiration; it would be an insult to the royal family.

The entire clans of the men who defiled the First Princess would have to be exterminated. As for the First Princess herself, she could only be placed under house arrest on a remote island to live out the rest of her life.

The joy that filled his heart just moments ago instantly cooled. Bradley felt the sharp pang of falling from a great height.

Guessing what Bradley was thinking, Adonis tapped on the table, bringing him back to his senses.

“Bradley, I know what you’re thinking. Put aside those disrespectful thoughts. I asked my sister’s name during the ceremony this morning. She now goes by Camilla Pescia.”

“Pescia? The Pescia of the Blood Clan?”

“Yes. She is now the second young lady of Count Pescia’s family, adopted by the Pescia family of the Blood Clan when she was very young. Rumor has it that the eldest daughter of the Pescia family detests men. I believe my sister’s personality was influenced by her.”

“This is truly…”

Feeling troubled, Bradley stroked his chin back and forth.

If the First Princess detested men, it would be very difficult for him and the other ministers to matchmake her with Adonis. Setting aside the fact that the empire already owed the First Princess a great deal, she was, after all, the First Princess, the descendant of the former emperor’s first wife, possessing an absolutely legitimate claim. As a subject, he couldn’t push too hard. Furthermore, the First Princess was not like Adonis, whom he had watched grow up. He could say certain things to Adonis, but he often couldn’t speak so frankly to the First Princess. Their level of familiarity was far too low. If it caused a dispute, it would be terrible.

After thinking for a long time, as if suddenly remembering something, Bradley’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“ Sss s—Your Majesty, what if you tell the First Princess your true gender? As long as Her Highness knows you are a woman, her aversion to you will naturally disappear.”

Thump, thump.

Adonis tapped the table twice with gravity, signaling Bradley to be quiet.

Rеaԁ οn ΚаtRеaԁіոɡСаfе

“Hey, hey, hey… Bradley. Back in the palace, weren’t you the one most opposed to me revealing my identity? You even said a ‘Queen’ wouldn’t be enough to command respect. Why the change of tune now? In this world, the only people who know I’m using illusion magic are you and I. Even Vina doesn’t know I’m actually a woman. If my imperial sister leaks this secret, it will spread far faster than you can silence the rumors, Bradley.”

“Ugh…”

Bradley was at a loss for words. Indeed, compared to the problem of how two women could produce an heir, the secret of Adonis being a woman getting out was far more dire.

“Alright, that’s enough of this topic.” Clapping her hands, Adonis changed the subject. “How are the arrangements for the negotiations with that side?”

“They have received our letter and promised a reply within two days.”

“As long as there’s a reply. This time, we must settle things with them, no matter what.”

It seemed his Majesty was not uneasy because of the demons. Bradley sighed in relief.

“Then, Her Highness the First Princess… should we bring her to the residence?”

“No need. I heard they bought a mansion in the suburbs. Just have Carl arrange for some soldiers to patrol that area regularly.”

“Yes. In that case, this subject will take his leave.”

“Wait.”

Just as Bradley relaxed and stood up to leave, Adonis suddenly called out loudly, making his heart clench, thinking some terrible emergency had occurred.

“This subject is here.”

“Er, Bradley. Order a temple built for the Goddess of Love by the sea, directly facing the moon. The style should be as solemn as possible. Use the same specifications as the Ymir Temple for the Goddess Ymir.”

“The… Goddess of Love?” Bradley almost thought his ears were playing tricks on him. Only after seeing the seriousness on Adonis’s face did he force himself to believe it. “Your Majesty, why build a temple to the Goddess of Love?”

“Don’t ask so many questions. I have my own arrangements. This is an order.”

“This subject… understands.”

With a strange expression, Bradley withdrew from the room.

◇

Rеαԁ οո ΚαtRеαdіոɡСаfе

“Mm, that’s done.”

Inside the underground storage room, Yisi held the fist-sized spherical power core up to the light. She briefly compared it to the 10042-model and 10043-model power cores placed on the [Foundry Platform] as a size reference, and nodded with satisfaction.

“The size is a perfect match. Now, just inserting it into the body should be fine.”

Storing the two reference power cores in her storage, Yisi picked up the two newly crafted cores and turned toward Laxy, who was dressing the two God-Forged Angels. Since she didn’t know if the two immobile angels had a power core issue or a magic circuit issue, Yisi could only use the process of elimination, trying one by one.

If it’s a problem with the magic circuits, there’s nothing I can do.

“Laxy, are you ready over there?”

Thinking this, Yisi glanced at the two wooden barrels in the corner of the room, which were now filled with black, dirty water.

Over the several years they were immobile, the two God-Forged Angels had accumulated a large amount of dust, so Yisi had Laxy wash the grime off their bodies. Although Yisi was initially worried that the “downed” angels couldn’t touch water, her worry proved completely unnecessary. God-Forged Angels are different from robots. According to Laxy, even if an angel’s power core comes into contact with water, it won’t cause a short-circuit or similar problems. Interestingly, when Yisi mentioned the word “short-circuit,” Laxy had looked confused and asked what “short-circuit” meant.

Laxy stopped buttoning her sister’s pajamas—before replacing the power cores, the old ones had to be taken out, and Yisi had learned from their serial numbers that these two God-Forged Angels were related to Laxy; they were Trino-model 20499 and Trino-model 20500—and turned around to nod.

“Yes, the dust on their bodies has been cleaned. My Lord can replace the power cores at any time.”

“I know.”

Arriving in front of the Trino 20499 and 20500 models, who were lying flat on the beds, Yisi took a deep breath. The underground of Cornelia’s Mansion was much larger than the space above. The storage room she had arrived in via the portal was just one of many underground. The place she was in now was a wide room containing three large, operating-table-like beds. Cornelia seemed to have researched God-Forged Angels during her life. The evidence was that when Yisi first entered this room, it was scattered with terrifying body parts. However, those parts weren’t from disassembled angels, but rather the products of Cornelia’s many failed attempts to replicate them. To make the room less gruesome, Yisi had stored all the remains in her storage.

“I remember, I just have to place the power core on the chest, and it should be absorbed automatically…”

Glancing politely at the God-Forged Angel lying on the bed like a sleeping beauty, Yisi muttered. Unlike Laxy’s long blue hair and perfect figure, these two angels had long pink and green hair, respectively. Not only were their wings a size smaller than Laxy’s, but their physical development was also… regrettable. They appeared only slightly older than herself, similar to Camilla. Of course, this refers to their apparent age; after all, no one wants to know a God-Forged Angel’s real age.

Yisi repeated the same method she had used to replace Laxy’s power core in the past. Soon, the body of the angel in front of her reacted. A faint blue light emanated from her chest, actively absorbing the power core into her body. This meant that this angel’s power core had simply withered; her internal magic circuits were not damaged.

As long as it’s not a problem with the internal magic circuits, it’s fine.

“Now for the other one.”

She repeated the process.

The Trino-20500 model had also lost her mobility due to a withered power core. However, what puzzled Yisi was that even after waiting for a minute, neither angel woke up immediately upon receiving the replacement. They remained motionless on the beds.

“Why aren’t they waking up… Are the magic circuits damaged after all? But if they were damaged, why could they still absorb the power core?”

Rеαԁ on КαtReαdіnɡСαfe

“Uu…”

The words had barely left her mouth when Yisi realized she had misspoken. Beside her, Laxy’s muscles had tensed up at her words, and her expression was fraught with anxiety.

I have to calm Laxy down, quickly.

Yisi glanced at the Omniscient Map. Unlike at the beginning, when it had treated the two angels as inanimate objects, the map now recognized them. The name field displayed the serial numbers of the two God-Forged Angels.

I remember Laxy’s name was granted by the gospel. Don’t angels have their own names?

Pushing the irrelevant question aside, Yisi reassured Laxy.

“Don’t worry. They haven’t woken up probably because their magic circuits have been dry for too long, and the magic power needs time to fill their bodies. They should be able to move after waiting a while.”

The proof was that both angels’ magic power was now rising rapidly. Furthermore, there was a large level difference between the 20499 model (Level 43) and the 20500 model (Level 31).

Laxy let out a long sigh of relief.

“Huu… Thank you, My Lord. Since they were ‘born’ after me, I have the right to command them in the absence of their master’s orders. I believe that after they awaken, they will surely be able to assist you in other ways, My Lord. They are Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order combat angels, respectively. They are more proficient in combat and protection than I am.”

“Well, well, let’s discuss that after they wake up. We should let them act according to their own will, with no need to restrict their freedom. By the way, if they are both combat angels, why are they differentiated as Fourth and Fifth Orders?”

“Because—”

Before Laxy could explain, Camilla, who had just come through the portal, happened to interrupt her.

“Onee-sama, Solanya and the maids she found have arrived. Are you going out to see them? I have doubts about this group’s competence for the job.”

“Are they in the drawing room already?”

“Yes, Solanya is waiting for your approval.”

“Ah, I understand. I’ll go out now.” It would be rude to keep guests waiting outside. Yisi gave Laxy an apologetic smile. “Laxy, I’m going to the drawing room. If they wake up while I’m still gone, you can bring them directly to find me.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Receiving Laxy’s characteristically serious reply, Yisi nodded and left the underground area.