Was Ralph hinting that he should get to work in secret? Lyle’s mind stirred to life, thinking that indeed, Reed and Echel, those two old-timers, couldn’t bring themselves to keep asking a young person like him for help, but they didn’t say he couldn’t wander around, did they?

I’m just chatting with people, that’s not helping, right? Bored and climbing the tower is not helping, right? Anyway, Ralph is on vacation, so I might as well get a little exercise.

Lina Dreya had spent the entire day mobilizing for war, and returned to her room exhausted. By taking the initiative in war preparations, she managed to regain some respect in front of the Dreyans, at least they didn’t impeach her, the queen who had lost the founder’s remains.

"What’s the deal with those guys?" Lina complained, recalling the old knights who just recently had unpleasant faces but now seemed more confident than herself. They sometimes looked at her with strange, cryptic smiles, and when she inquired, they left her with a mystifying phrase.

"Your Majesty the Queen, the bloodline of Dreya will always bless this nation." Nonsense, we are the Royal Family, of course I’m going to bless it. A bunch of usually daft knights suddenly turned into enigmatic sphinxes, causing the queen such a headache that she had to spend even more energy on her work.

In war reserves, Lina Dreya personally oversaw everything, carefully investigating every item, be it provisions, weapons, or personnel. To win the battle, Lina knew that everything had to be perfect. She kept busy till nightfall, and now she needed a good sleep. Commanding the war would consume even more of her energy, and she had to conserve her strength. She collapsed onto her modest bed and the exhausted queen soon drifted into sleep. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

No one knew that outside the solemn Royal Tower, a slender figure was clinging to the wall, whipped by the cold wind. Dreya was built on a desolate plain with no structures or trees to provide cover, and the tower, a landmark, was the tallest. This made Lyle climbing it feel like a sailor braving a tempest. Maybe the term drowned rat would be a better fit for him.

Nia, transformed into climbing limbs, trembled in the wind, the instability making it feel like Lyle could be flung off at any moment.

Damn girl, I’ve already agreed to let her eat as much as she wants for twenty-four hours, yet she’s still trying to up her price, imitating a teetering look, to extract more treats from her stingy guardian.

Lyle looked down at the iron torrent passing below in the darkness, the Dreya knights on night duty. If he fell, he wouldn’t even need their attack; the dense, straight-upward lances would impale him, turning him into a hole-ridden man.

"Mr. Raymond’s twelve-course meal, no more!" That was after being nagged by Raymond for twelve hours.

Nia, satisfied, pulled Lyle up to continue the climb.

As for Lyle’s reason for coming here in the middle of the night, it was mainly because of the dead stubborn Reed Dreya. Despite adoring his granddaughter Lina, he absolutely refused to lower his pride to approach her. Echel and Kayla interacted closely with her, but he just watched eagerly from the side. Even when making final preparations, he met with his loyal old subordinates, discussing plans with these elite Dreya knights in detail, but he just wouldn’t tell the already distraught Queen Lina, insisting that those knights keep secrets from the queen.

Poor Queen Lina, kept in the dark by everyone close to her, she was actually the only one with a real sense of crisis.

Lyle couldn’t stand to watch as an outsider, so tonight, he planned to give the poor Queen Lina some encouragement.

In the end, he still turned to his omnipotent uncle for help. The Immersive Stone, a device that could enter another’s dreams—Heaven knows how much Ralph had mastered the abilities of the Dreamwalker.

Sneaking into Queen Lina’s chamber, Lyle gently entered her dreams with the aid of the nimble Nia.

It seemed to be a nightmare.

In the dream, Queen Lina, wearing a revealing nobility gown, was buried in paperwork, editing documents.

This... isn’t this her regular work? Was she considering her daily activities a nightmare? Seeing this girl struggling to keep up, Lyle quickly found her essence in the dream.

The nightmare changed. Ralph’s ability granted him Dreamwalker’s privileges, and Lyle easily transformed the dream.

At this moment, Queen Lina was still Princess Lina.

Although she was the same age as in the real world. She had long, clear black hair as dark and lucid as the night sky, trailing on the velvet behind her. Her lips were painted with an inviting hue, her face lightly powdered, donning a lightweight gown. No heavy armor, no calloused hands.

She collapsed onto the soft divan, her dark and beautiful hair becoming her best blanket.

The two former kings of Dreya had not passed away, her father managed the kingdom extremely well, and the old King Reed had retired, becoming his granddaughter’s personal painter, leading the portrait collection from five years old all the way to twenty.

In the dream, Lina didn’t have to govern; her only worry was how to ride the pony Reed had given her, though in reality, this was a trifle for the battle-skilled Queen Lina.

Lyle wove the beautiful dream hidden in Lina’s subconscious, but that wasn’t his true intention.

It was time for him to make an appearance, to give the Queen some tangible encouragement.

Lyle knocked on the door.

Lina’s dream shifted, she seemed to suddenly realize something, tearing her gown to shreds, underneath wasn’t smooth skin but shining armor. Queen Lina, wielding a gigantic lance, pointed it directly at the stranger who suddenly barged into her dream.

"You twisted my dream, monster!"

Monster? Lyle looked at his own hands, no longer the human hands he remembered; perhaps Lina’s rejection had transformed him into some abhorrent creature.

Lyle made a gentleman’s hat-tipping gesture.

"It is an honor to meet you, Queen Lina, I am not your enemy."

"Not you? Not you who invades my dreams, twisting my will?!"

"I have not changed your mind, Lina, I simply brought out the desires deep within your heart. I appreciate your efforts and have decided to support you in person."

"Thank you, receiving encouragement from a monster is truly an honor for me."

Lyle felt a bit aggrieved in his heart, what have you turned me into.

Let’s focus on the matter at hand.

"My impromptu visit this time also carries another task, which is to tell you something."

Lina’s lance remained unlowered.

"What is it?"

Lyle had originally planned to reveal Reed’s existence and his plans in their entirety, but considering Lina’s capacity to accept such things and the current environment, she was more likely to regard this situation as a bizarre dream.

Therefore, it was best for him to give her some hints that closely related to reality.

Thus.

"Your Majesty, the bloodline of Dreya will forever bless this nation."

Lyle clearly saw the veins on Queen Lia’s forehead bulge.

"You damned monster, you’re also playing the oracle with those bastards! Is it really because my obsession is too deep that I would imagine all this in my dream?"

Seeing that his plan might fail, Lyle panicked.

"No, Queen Lina, I mean, your life will soon undergo a massive change, just like a dream, you will be freed from the tough and tedious official duties, living the life you truly desire."

Clear enough, right? If Mr. Reed eventually appears, he would very likely assist Lina in governance, which would likely make things easier.

However, Lina had a different interpretation.

"You mean to say, just like in the dreams, you will appear in my real world and bring significant changes to my life?"

Lyle thought about it; he was the one who allowed Reed to show his face again, so Lina’s words were not without reason, so he nodded.

"Yes, indeed it is so."

"Let’s get married."

"?" Lyle was baffled.

In fact, Lina’s many years of governance experience had shaped a utilitarian personality. In her view, everything she possessed could be leveraged for benefit. If the "Demon God" in front of her could truly project himself into reality, then as a queen, she must keep the Demon God by her side, and the best way of course is a contract, with marriage being the most excellent form of contract for a woman.

"Become mine and then use your power to help me manage Dreya, Demon God."

Lyle thought of the future, where he would be compelled by Queen Lina to become a tool managing the state while also facing the pursuit of Alianna and Ralph.

He chickened out and immediately fled, ending the dream.

In the middle of the night, Queen Lina woke up from her sleep, a smile on her face, feeling relaxed all over.

"Such a cowardly Demon God, definitely not a monster of my own imagination, which means his words could possibly be true. How exciting. Looking so terrifying on the outside, yet the inner self turns out to be a scaredy-cat, really interesting."

Lina remembered what the Demon God looked like in her dream.

When it appeared on the windowsill, its pitch-black body devoured all light, its huge face, wearing a pale mask with spiral horns, left only two void-like holes, tentacles spreading across its body, polluting the whole world. Immense yet deformed, eerie yet courteous.

"Let’s call him, the Omen Giant."

"The Demon God who devours my nightmares upon appearing."