In the Name of Empress-Chapter 390 - 274: To Each Their Own

Returning to the Witch Palace, the servants respectfully set up the refreshments and then tactfully left, leaving only Edward, Adina, Roland, and Sif.

Edward and Sif reunited in the room next to the hall, having endless things to talk about after being separated between life and death.

Edward and Sif’s deep bond as father and daughter left Roland and the Sea Witch aside.

Seeing the awkward silence, Adina invited Roland to a small parlor.

After a few polite exchanges, Adina suddenly remembered something and cautiously preempted.

"Mr. Roland, if it concerns personal privacy and the secrets of the Ocean Race, I won’t speak of it."

She had to remain vigilant, after all, General Nephropidae fell at Roland’s hands.

The Four Ocean Generals all had the potential to break through to Tier Four, or even Tier Three, yet General Nephropidae was roasted by Roland, and of course, the other Ocean Generals would be wary.

General Nephropidae’s death was due to his underestimation and carelessness; it was his own doing, and Adina dared not underestimate Roland.

She was very focused on news from various land countries and had long known about Roland.

Cunning, deceitful, ruthless, and merciless.

This was her fair assessment of Roland. She had thought Sylph might come to support her father, never expecting Roland to appear instead.

At some moment, she even considered whether she should directly capture Roland but quickly dismissed the idea.

If she captured Roland, Sif would definitely not accept it; would she then have to capture Sif as well?

Absolutely not, Edward would be displeased.

So she could only maintain a cautious distance from Roland, fearing being ensnared by him.

Roland paused for a moment, nearly amused.

He wasn’t an idiot; how could he possibly probe into the secrets of the Ocean Race upon arrival?

As for personal privacy, it was probably her unwillingness to share her feelings with the old Emperor.

Although as a contracted writer for The Sun who had some curiosity about gossip, Roland chose to respect Adina.

He cleared his throat slightly and changed the topic.

"Miss Adina, have all the survivors of the Fourth Fleet been taken in by you?"

In fact, Roland was not particularly concerned about this question, but he had to find a topic; the awkward silence was uncomfortable.

Seeing that Roland didn’t inquire about her and Edward’s relationship, Adina was slightly relieved. She replaced her expression with a polite smile and regained her usual composure.

"There are a total of over 3,700 survivors, temporarily residing in my territory, still managed by Edward. However, in the past two years, more than 500 have chosen to marry and settle here."

"What about the others, if they want to go home, can I take them away?" Roland probed.

Since Adina and the old Emperor were going to get married, they would all be family in the future, just as Adina’s good mood tested her attitude toward humans.

"Of course, they can." Adina sighed with relief.

She’s treated those willing to intermarry with the Sea Demon People as clansmen.

Over the past two years, she has done her best to persuade young people who wanted to stay by introducing them to suitable girls, causing criticism from the conservative faction within the race.

Adina, who had always been open to listening to suggestions, was particularly stubborn about this matter.

She has never mentioned the real reason to anyone.

After all, Edward is human and will certainly be lonely staying in the Sea alone; it would be much better if he has a group of clansmen for company.

What Adina cared about was not these survivors, but Edward.

Supporting thousands of people who couldn’t engage in production activities underwater was not an insignificant economic burden; it would be good if Roland took them away.

After chatting with Roland for a few words, Adina really didn’t have the patience to waste words with him and politely excused herself.

"Roland, if there is nothing else, I will..."

"Wait, you’re not going to leave me here alone, are you?" Roland protested with a smile.

It was indeed impolite to leave a guest alone, but Adina dared not let her clansmen receive Roland either.

Most of her clansmen were honest and straightforward, hardly anyone could match Roland.

This guy wouldn’t take long to dig out the secrets of the sea.

"If you have something to do, you can attend to it first. Can I read in the library for a while?"

Roland’s casual remark immediately put Adina on alert.

As expected, his tail was indeed exposed; he wanted to inquire about the secrets of the ocean.

The Sea Witch was about to refuse when Roland added with a smile: "Non-confidential literary works or ordinary books would be fine, just to pass the time."

Oh, if it’s just those, then it’s certainly acceptable.

She smiled and said, "Please follow me."

Following the Sea Witch, Roland couldn’t help admiring his father-in-law’s good fortune as he watched her swaying figure and long legs.

Although belonging to the Ocean Race, the Sea Demon’s body structure was close to that of humans, and there was no reproductive isolation between them. Historically, intermarriage wasn’t common, but it wasn’t unheard of.

It is said that the Sea Demon People were a branch that fled to the sea to escape the bloody battles on land during the evolution of ancient apes.

Unfortunately, this era had yet to develop molecular biology, so there are no answers, and all conjectures are wild guesses.

Adina’s heart was racing a bit.

She could feel Roland’s gaze fixed on her back.

The gaze had no lewd or lustful intent, purely curiosity.

She bit her lip, slowed her pace to walk alongside Roland, and smiled, "Roland, from now on, we are family. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Nothing much, I just enjoy reading; literary works, astronomy, geography, encyclopedic trivia, anything would do."

Roland smiled and said, "If possible, I would like to become your trade partner, for mutually beneficial cooperation."

"Just that?" Adina was a bit surprised.

"That’s all. Don’t worry, I’m a decent person, I never make my friends feel awkward in business, especially since we’re family. Considering Sif and Edward’s relationship, I should even..."

Adina quickly interrupted Roland, "Roland, we’re about the same age, so let’s stick to our own terms of address. You can call me Sister Adina in private, as for in public..."

Calling her stepmother seemed a bit far-fetched, and calling her aunt made her sound old. Adina couldn’t think of an appropriate title.

Fortunately, Roland was quick-witted and wasn’t stumped at all.

"How about Lady Edward?"

Adina’s cheeks turned slightly red, the pale blue hidden beneath her fair skin suddenly turned a deep crimson.

"Certainly, but only after the wedding."

Roland almost couldn’t hold back his laughter; he found the magic trick to lower Adina’s guard.

As long as Edward was mentioned, she would go from a composed Sea Witch to Lady Edward.

Haha, Lady Edward, that’s a good one.

Even with Roland’s thick skin, calling a girl only two years older than him "mom" was still a bit hard for him.

Even if he didn’t care about appearances at all, could Adina handle being called "mom"?

Sure enough, it’s better to stick to their own terms.

The library soon arrived.

With Adina leading the way, the scribe didn’t dare to stop them, but he couldn’t help reminding,

"Your Highness the Witch, the books in Section A are not open to outsiders."

Adina glanced at the aged scribe and calmly said, "Mr. Roland is Edward’s future son-in-law and my esteemed guest, not an outsider. He can also read the books in Section A."

The old scribe was tongue-tied for a long moment.

For the majority of the time, Her Highness the Witch was very wise, but there were always exceptions. When it came to that human emperor, her reason disappeared.

"Even if you plead, he can only read here, not take a single book away!"

This was the old scribe’s final stubbornness.

Seeing the atmosphere a bit tense, Roland smiled to ease their awkwardness.

"No problem, I’ll just read here."

Roland was so understanding that the old scribe felt even more uncomfortable, like throwing a heavy punch into cotton, empty.

He sternly issued a library card to Roland, repeatedly instructing him not to privately take books out.

As Roland walked into the library, the somewhat uneasy Adina was finally relieved.

She consoled the old scribe warmly, slightly improving his mood.

She could feel that Roland harbored no hostility, and he hadn’t been too persistent earlier, so she granted him access to some confidential books.

The books in Section A were indeed important, but they were mostly the chronicles and encyclopedias of the Ocean World.

Even if Roland could remember some, could he take it all away?

Letting him read a few books, understanding the Ocean World was good, at least he wouldn’t think of oceanic intelligent life as just scaly, egg-laying monsters.

Adina hummed a tune as she left.

She wanted to go back and get ready; for the evening banquet, she aimed to be the most dazzling queen.

Proudly, she stuck out her chest, soon thought of Sif, and her expression dimmed.

Before meeting Sif, she thought the pinnacle of land humans’ beauty only approached hers, never surpassing it.

Basking in Edward’s favor, her glory shone brighter, more beautiful than ever, she truly believed she stood atop the world’s female allure.

Until she saw Sylph.

Forget it; she’d dress plainly, avoiding any beauty competition that way.

Without comparing, there’d be no losing.

Sylph was so beautiful, with Edward’s fine lineage.

Their child would surely be more beautiful than Sylph.

Adina clenched her fist, smiled at the corners of her mouth, then thought of a serious problem.

Her child with Edward would be Sylph’s younger sibling.

A sibling twenty years apart.

Indeed, it’s best to stick to their own terms; otherwise, everything would be in chaos.

Luckily, Prince Feino tragically perished in the shipwreck, otherwise she would have another son much older than herself.

While Adina’s mind was a whirl of random thoughts, Roland was already immersed in a sea of knowledge.

The Petit Library had a vast collection, at least a hundred thousand books.

There were over a hundred volumes just cataloging the books.

Since Adina had given him Section A access, he wasn’t going to be shy.

The manager guarding Section A scrutinized Roland repeatedly, confirming the library card’s permission several times, and reluctantly let him in.

Seeing the manager’s conflicted expression, Roland knew there had to be treasures here.

He was more excited than ever about this place.

Finding the catalog, flipping through it quickly, Roland soon identified the must-read books.

The "Sea Emperor’s Biography" and the "Ocean Annals."

The Sea Emperor was the ruler of the ocean, said to possess powers very close to a god, only for some reason never achieving divinity.

He had entered a dormant state tens of thousands of years ago and wouldn’t return until the third Day of Return at the earliest.

Roland’s eyes shone; the Sea Emperor’s biography was the history of the ocean.

This was truly a treasure.