Vior's usually stern, unmoving face softened considerably, a rare, genuine smile gracing her battle-scarred lips.
She struck her heavy iron breastplate in a resounding salute that rang across the dusty square.
"The Royal Knights are at your command, Your Highness. It's about time this entire empire remembered exactly where its true strength lies."
Lilia took one last, lingering look at young Kai, who was still standing by the rotting wooden fences, watching her every move with a complex mixture of profound confusion and deep-seated anger.
She knew a single wagon of supplies wouldn't magically fix centuries of systemic imperial neglect.
It wouldn't stop the massive military threat of the Forden Barbarians gathering on the outer plains either.
But as she stood tall amidst the swirling gray dust of the frontier outpost, the eighteenth year of her life truly began—not with a golden crown or a grand ball, but with a solemn, unbreakable promise to heal a broken empire from its very roots.
Then she whispered slowly to herself.
"If only General Aurelius were still commanding the Southern Fortress, those barbarians wouldn't dare to go this far... Landra... Just where are you..."
Upon accidentally overhearing Lilia's barely audible words, Maria immediately turned her face away, as if trying not to hear what her younger sister had just said.
Then, after they finally returned to the sprawling palace capital days later. Lilia immediately bypassed the welcoming committees.
She went straight to see her father and mother to report every single horror she'd personally witnessed at the border.
The Imperial Audience Chamber was absolutely freezing, despite the massive, roaring hearths burning brightly at the distant corners of the room.
Lilia vividly remembered kneeling on the cold, polished white marble floor. Her knees still ached fiercely from the hard frontier dirt she'd occupied just days before.
Beside her, Commander Vior stood completely rigid like a statue of solid iron, her scarred face set in a grim, unreadable expression.
Princess Maria stood a cautious step behind them, observing the unfolding family drama silently.
On the grand, elevated golden thrones sat her parents: Emperor Urzha.
His long beard was heavily touched with silver, his weary eyes carried the heavy exhaustion of a ruler fighting a losing political battle against time.
And Empress Neyla, a woman whose timeless beauty was as legendary throughout the continent as her cold, calculated ruthlessness.
"The frontier is rotting, Father," Lilia said, her clear voice echoing powerfully against the vast, high-arched ceilings of the chamber.
"The people of Oakhaven are starving; they're dying in the streets."
"The Forden barbarians have completely blocked their vital water supply, and the emergency funds approved by the royal treasury for building the deep wells never arrived at the outpost."
"They were illegally diverted by Lord Danny's corrupt family."
She took a sharp breath before continuing.
"A child's mother grew sick and died in the freezing mud simply because they didn't have clean water to drink."
"They couldn't afford a single copper coin for the entry permit to the provincial city to get medical treatment. This is the absolute, terrifying reality of the borders, Father."
A heavy, suffocating silence instantly descended upon the grand chamber, extinguishing the warmth of the fires.
Emperor Urzha sighed deeply, rubbing his throbbing temples with a trembling hand, the deep lines on his weathered face etched with profound worry.
"Lilia... my sweetest daughter."
He spoke softly, his voice laced with a father's genuine affection but heavily burdened by the invisible, crushing shackles of the golden throne.
"I hear the pain in your heart, and I deeply grieve for the tragic plight of our loyal subjects."
"I promise you, I'll personally look into the imperial supply ledgers. I'll send independent royal auditors to the provincial region to investigate."
"Then arrest Lord Danny immediately!" Lilia pressed aggressively, stepping forward onto the marble, her youthful righteousness burning bright and fierce.
"He actively stole from the imperial treasury and indirectly killed those innocent people through his acts of corruption!"
"Silence, Princess," Empress Neyla's sharp, crystalline voice cut through the tense air like a heavy iron guillotine.
The Empress didn't even look down at Lilia. Her cold, calculating eyes remained fixed intently on the grand tapestry of the empire hanging behind the thrones.
"You speak so proudly of the law, yet you completely disregard the political balance that actually keeps this palace from crumbling into dust."
Have you forgotten that Lord Danny's lineage isn't merely a branch of the normal nobility? They're the primary vassals operating under the direct house of Grand Magus Hendrix."
Lilia froze mid-step, the air turning to ice in her throat.
Beside her, she felt Commander Vior's jaw tighten so hard that the joints audibly clicked within the silent room.
The Emperor looked down at Lilia with a tragic mixture of pity and sorrow.
"Your mother speaks the absolute truth, Lilia."
"The House of Vermillion completely controls the Imperial Magic Corps—the very magic department that is the core of our Empire."
He sighed before continuing, "If I openly accuse and strip Lord Danny of his title, it'll be viewed as a direct, unprovoked attack on the Grand Magus himself. In these volatile times, the royal family can't deal with internal divisions with powerful magical factions."
"So we simply allow them to starve to death?"
Lilia's voice trembled violently, a tear of pure frustration threatening to spill over her eyelashes.
"We allow children to curse our family name because we're too afraid of our own shadow?" Lilia asks again, still trembling.
"We manage this kingdom as it currently is, not as we might wish it to be. But we'll do what we can, so at least they'll still have a well there,"
The Empress replied coldly, her posture perfect and unyielding.
"You've fully fulfilled your royal duty by reporting this matter to us. Now, leave the complex affairs of the Empire to us. Go and prepare for your eighteenth birthday celebration. That's the only thing you need to think about right now, my dear."
Empress Neyla waved her hand, signaling the end of the meeting.