The army was stationed.
The Gerbera Empress personally went out to investigate the surroundings, and when she returned, she had a blood-covered, strikingly beautiful man with her.
The soldiers who saw this were stunned for two seconds, their expressions varied.
But it didn't take long for them to go back to normal.
After all, it wasn't a big deal. Their Empress was already known for her looks and talent, and she was never short of admirers. So, having someone new by her side from time to time was nothing surprising.
They were just surprised that this new, handsome person showed up covered in blood and was half-hanging off the Empress's waist, supported by her arm.
Sindri's injuries were too many and too serious. After Elara brought him back, she stuffed him into a carriage, gave him a few of Oswyn's healing pills, and ordered the attendants to treat his wounds and change his clothes.
Not far away, inside another carriage, the Gerbera Empress also saw Elara returning with that blood-covered beauty.
Luis frowned without realizing it. He lowered his head, pursed his lips slightly, and turned his veiled, handsome face away as if not seeing it would keep him calm.
The Gerbera Empress, who was also looking out the carriage window, turned her head to glance at him. "Luis, your temper really is too sharp sometimes. Be honest with me. Are you insisting on going to Plumera Kingdom this time because you've taken a liking to their Empress? Just because she saved you that day?"
Luis's face turned red with anger and shame. A few seconds later, as if realizing something, he gritted his teeth and snapped back, "Why would I like her! Even if she saved me that day, she's a complete stranger and just picked me up in her arms... that's something only a scoundrel would do. How could I like someone like that!"
The Gerbera Empress looked at him for a few seconds. It was hard to tell if she believed it or not, but she turned back to the window.
"That's good then. The Plumera Empress really is one of those rare, born geniuses, but her inner court is not an easy place to be. The man she just brought back, I recognize him. I'm surprised too. Even someone like Sindri, third on the Central Continent's Heaven List, that mad demon, willingly submits and worships her…"
"Even though she looks like she can keep Sindri under control, the harem has never been an easy place to deal with. If she keeps pampering him, things might stay peaceful.
But if one day she favors someone else more and starts ignoring that mad dog, he might lose control and go wild."
"Sindri is like a living death god. Just meeting his gaze could cost your life. Stay away if you can. Otherwise, you won't even know when your time is up."
The Gerbera Empress said this with hidden meaning. She watched as Elara frowned and forcefully shoved Sindri off her waist and into the carriage. Before Luis could respond, the Gerbera Empress's brow furrowed again.
"Speaking of which, when they told me about Vanya, they said she's gotten where she is today with a lot of help from Elara... Vanya better not also..."
The Gerbera Empress's brows tightened further. She looked at Luis again...
These two sons were all she had. They better not both fall for the same tree especially one surrounded by so many thorns.
Elara had originally prepared another carriage for Sindri so he could sit alone, but ever since he learned she would not drive him away again, Sindri had become extremely clingy. After entering her carriage, he refused to leave, constantly sticking to her like a beautiful yet stubborn piece of candy skin that couldn't be peeled off.
Elara really didn't know how a tall man over 1.9 meters could express such an intense sense of attachment and clinginess so vividly.
After finishing bandaging all his wounds, Sindri once again tightly hugged her and sat close beside her in the carriage. Elara felt she needed to find something for him to do, so she had someone bring the child over.
She had been away fighting in Prince Leland for so long, and naturally the child had been well cared for.
Back when she didn't know this was her own child, Elara had already liked the baby inexplicably. Now that she knew, she took the beautiful and delicate baby who had grown a bit from the servant's arms, and a feeling she had never experienced before arose in her heart.
She held the baby and looked carefully, her actions and expression more serious than before.
Sindri leaned tightly against her, watching her hold the child. The smile on his face grew more tender and affectionate.
"Sister, isn't our baby really beautiful? Especially his eyes, when I just gave birth to him, I thought his eyes looked just like yours~"
Up to now, Elara still felt it surreal that she suddenly had a child out of wedlock.
But the child was in her arms, and the child's father was beside her. The sudden love and protectiveness that arose within her was very real.
Elara held the child for a long time before finally giving a soft "Mm."
Sindri reached out to hug her neck, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and chuckled softly.
The baby being held seemed to sense that both his parents were there and that his father was very happy. His soft white hands waved about and reached for Sindri's bright red hair while making babbling noises.
"Ah, he's hungry."
Hearing the baby's voice, Sindri didn't get up. Still leaning against Elara, he reached out and took the baby from her arms with practiced ease.
As Elara followed his movements to see what he was going to do, she saw Sindri pull open his robe and reveal his chest.
Then, before Elara could look away, he did not feed the child immediately. Instead, he leaned in a little, showing off his now fully healed and pale chest, his flawless face smiling more seductively. "Sister, do you want to try? It probably tastes good, the baby really likes it."
Sindri had grown up in the Carnation Kingdom, where he had seen many housebound husbands and attendants compete fiercely for their wife's favor.
Among them, using their nursing period to seduce their wife for affection was a common method most husbands used after giving birth. It was very effective, and the wives usually liked it.
Sindri used to watch those men using all kinds of tricks just to get someone's attention, and thought it boring and silly. But now he had become the very person he once thought boring, and he even looked forward to Elara taking interest in his chest like other wives did.
Meeting Sindri's expectant and slightly suggestive gaze, Elara: "..."
She turned away, pushed the baby precisely back into his arms, and said, "If you're going to feed, do it quickly before he starts crying from hunger."
Although he failed to seduce Elara, Sindri wasn't discouraged.
Holding the baby to his chest to start feeding, he also leaned back into Elara's arms again.
Once he fully occupied her embrace, Sindri pressed his face into the crook of her neck, sighed softly while holding the baby, and his low voice was like a spirit whispering from the mountains, laced with temptation:
"Sister, it's fine if you don't want to drink now. My nursing period is quite special, it will last a long time. If you ever want to try later, you can~"
On the return journey, Elara's carriage now had a permanent guest, a beautiful husband who frequently breastfed the baby.
Sindri showed no interest in anything or anyone else except Elara. He rarely left her side, staying in her carriage every day with the baby, so it didn't cause much disturbance.
Every time Elara entered the carriage, she would be entangled by Sindri like a dodder vine.
When they finally returned to Plumera City, Elara told Sindri to take the baby back to the palace first and pick a palace to settle in.
But Sindri had gotten used to sticking to her. His tall body twisted like a snake, and with his alluring appearance, he truly looked like a venomous beauty snake clinging to her. It seemed like even a second apart from her was unbearable.
Elara had no choice but to warn him that if he didn't go now to choose a palace, he would not be allowed to stay near her in the future. Only then did Sindri reluctantly let her go.
When he finally left with the baby in his arms, leaning against the carriage window watching her as he was escorted back to the palace, Elara went on to escort the Gerbera Empress and her party to Luis's headquarters at the Zhaiyun Pavilion in Plumera City.
After all, the Gerbera Empress was still an empress. But Elara didn't want to spend her days finding time to entertain her. She still had many things to do. So she decided to personally take her to the place she most wanted to visit today, as an initial act of hospitality. Anything beyond that could wait.
Since entering the Plumera Kingdom, the Gerbera Empress had kept the curtain open, watching the surroundings the whole way.
The development of Plumera Kingdom far exceeded her expectations.
Whether it was the towering and solid walls, far grander than any other kingdom, or the paved highways across rivers and mountains allowing multiple carriages to travel side by side, or the vast and mechanized farmlands by the roads, or the dense high-rise buildings reaching eight to ten stories in the capital.
The Gerbera Empress and her officials and soldiers all looked on with varied expressions, eyes filled with astonishment.
This kingdom was so prosperous that it no longer resembled a newly promoted second-tier nation.
In many aspects, it even surpassed the Gerbera Kingdom.
Like the flat tiles covering the entire capital, the clean streets without even a single beggar, the orderly traffic of people and carriages, and the smiles on nearly every face, which made the entire Plumera City bustle like a capital at the peak of its glory.