"Lord Louis, at this time you're contacting us..."

"Lord Louis, are you perhaps thinking about the matter from last time..."

The moment the high officials of the two countries connected the call, they were frozen in silence.

Because they all realized that Louis had contacted the arch-rival of their country.

Something is amiss.

They all know that Ense's prince is always high in emotional intelligence regarding foreign matters and normally wouldn't simultaneously contact high officials of the two countries, especially on personal terms between two opposing factions.

If it's official business, that's another story.

By sending official documents to both parties to invite them in advance, conducting meetings online or offline after both parties agree, this is actually fine.

But to suddenly communicate both sides privately at this point, there's a bit of intrigue involved.

It's undeniably impolite.

However, even though the other party knows it's impolite yet still does it, that's even more unexpected.

Louis didn't reveal his suspicions directly.

Because if his assumptions were wrong, it would be a major embarrassment.

But he could hint to them.

He subtly reminded them to pay attention to the names in the application list for spatial passages recently, to see if there's a rapid increase in Lokeshi Empire's powerhouses; if so, they should be a bit cautious and slow down the other side's review.

He didn't directly explain the situation.

But his attitude was enough to make the other side suspect something.

Especially after Louis mentioned that "Ense has received confidential news that Secluded Forest Sea has been annihilated, and the major sin Envy was killed by Helmer and turned into a Corpse Demon," both sides' high officials' expressions changed.

After thanking him, they hurriedly hung up the communication, obviously rushing to address the issue.

...

"What are the Lokeshi people thinking?"

Louis still hasn't figured out the reason, but he remains vigilant.

Ense has also started tightening its security.

Closely monitoring Lokeshi people's movements.

There's no choice—though if Lokeshi is indeed playing strategic conversion tactics, the most likely target would be the Monet Kingdom, yet there's still a small probability they'd go mad and target Ense.

The only comforting thing is that this time the Underground City monsters have fully emerged, and not near Ense.

Igniting a war within the national borders and outside, is a different situation.

—At least the warriors can be more at ease.

That night.

Louis went to see Beatrice.

He must stay within the Imperial Palace these days.

Beatrice's inheritance ritual has reached the most critical point, and with information endlessly flowing into her from the Eye of Truth, she no longer remains conscious, falling into a long slumber.

He gently caressed his sleeping love lying on the bed.

In her dreams, Beatrice's eyes lacked a bit of the emperor's sharpness, showing more of a woman's vulnerability.

He gently smoothed her furrowed brow, kissed her forehead, then looked into the shadows, saying, "Qian, take care of her."

"Mm."

A calm voice came from the shadows.

Louis glanced at Qian and whispered, "Are you alright?"

A slight sound of footsteps came from the shadows, as Qian slowly walked in front of Louis.

At this moment, the lady-in-waiting who serves Beatrice showed some abnormality in her physical condition.

Her once bright eyes have become pitch black, not to mention the entire whites of her eyes were stained black, strange patterns emerged on her body, negative energy reverberating in her, causing her aura to surge continuously.

Qian's voice was very calm: "Just a minor Fallen Shadow Nether Realm pollution."

"Can you control it?"

"There won't be a single problem."

"Alright."

Louis said no more.

Qian would not joke about her own wellbeing, especially since her state now is related to Beatrice's safety.

However, Louis was still quite surprised.

Qian was indeed too comprehensive.

Initially, when he first met her, he thought she was just a lady-in-waiting.

Later on, he discovered she was powerful enough to ensure Beatrice's safety in daily life.

Further, he found out that her own strength was considerable, yet she could also borrow imperial power. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Later, he realized she had long pledged loyalty to Beatrice, so Beatrice's power enhancement would also elevate hers.

...

Now she can even directly convert Fallen Shadow Nether Realm's pollution into her own power.

Louis knew Qian inherited the shadow creature bloodline from her father, Rogen.

But the gap between shadow creatures and humans is actually quite large.

Upon close observation, one would find that shadow creatures' madness is only slightly better than demons.

After all, as the gathering point of negative energy, shadow creatures are inherently negative symbols.

Rogen and Qian, being able to completely suppress negative energy, are truly rare.

This is likely the reason why the Emperor placed Qian by Beatrice's side.

Leaving Beatrice's Sleeping Palace.

Louis turned and went to the Emperor's palace.

But he hesitated for a long time without daring to enter.

No way, insecure.

Since becoming the Ense Empire's only designated son-in-law, he has been criticized by the Emperor quite a bit.

Even his mother-in-law didn't show him a good face.

Heaven bless, who would have thought the time his mother-in-law was nicest to him was when she first met him.

But he chose to silently endure the pressure from his in-laws.

This is the pressure he needs to bear as the man of Beatrice, Little Swan, and Black Swan.

Nonetheless, knowing is one thing, but meeting the Emperor again, he couldn't help his heart racing.

Before he could react, the door to the Imperial Bedroom suddenly opened.

A terrifying pull sucked his body inside.

Louis instinctively stood firm.

Soldier Realm descended, stabilizing his body.

The pull constantly intensified.

But Louis didn't budge.

Once he reacted, he felt a little embarrassed.

The Emperor inside the bedroom felt embarrassed too.

Oops, he can't pull this kid.

Louis pondered whether he should lift the Soldier Realm's restriction to let the Emperor's invisible Divine Power take effect.

His body's instincts quickly surpassed his brain's reaction speed.

Can he still withdraw control now?

Louis tried to give Old Deng a little way out.

He didn't say much, intending to quietly release the defense, but found that the invisible force had vanished before he did.

Then he heard the Emperor's voice coming from the bedroom, with a slightly irritated tone.

"Come in yourself."

"Coming!"

He awkwardly walked in.

The Emperor sat on the throne overlooking him, speaking in a deep voice, "How come you have time to visit this old thing today."

Louis keenly sensed something amiss and decisively said, "How could you be old."

"I heard you calling me Old Deng; although I don't understand what it means, there's 'old' in it, so it can't be good."

"How could it be? You're the father of the woman I love most, my beloved father-in-law."

"Get lost, how many women do you love the most?"

Louis awkwardly remained silent.

Old Deng was quite irritable today, best not provoke him.

So he resolutely discussed the newly acquired information with Old Deng.

"Your Majesty, Beatrice will be asleep for a while, what should be done about the Lokeshi Empire's matters?"

However, this time the Emperor gave Louis no usual response.

He calmly said, "I'm no longer the Emperor of Ense. Louis, from now on, the empire's direction should be decided by yourselves."

Louis paused, fully understanding the Emperor's meaning.

He tried to nod but still inquired: "Your Majesty, did you anticipate this earlier?"

The Emperor chuckled and said, "Why do you think you were allowed to transform Lokeshi's assassination squad into the Curse Binding Legion?"

Louis replied helplessly, "It seems their internal division didn't happen overnight."

"Indeed, go do what you want to do, when Beatrice comes out, with both your strengths, your chances will be a lot higher."

As the Emperor spoke thus, he suddenly paused: "Wait, when she comes out, she might not be able to help you much."

"Hmm?"

Louis hesitated.

The Emperor's expression turned amused and helpless: "You lad, didn't you properly check her body when you visited her just now?"

"I'm not skilled in medicine!"

"But you should... oh, forgotten, you just ascended to legendary, during the rule confusion period, your perception is decreased, and you can't sense the birth of new life."

"What?"

Louis's heart leaped with a delightful revelation, and he excitedly jumped up, saying: "Do you mean?"

"Beatrice is pregnant."