Madam Shuderian was speaking about the most common…way to become someone in power.
Hearing the call of a higher being, being influenced by its will, spirit, blessings, or curses.
This almost guarantees becoming a “transcendent.”
But…such people generally have minds that are a bit unusual—though not necessarily abnormal.
After all, there are too many people in this world who aren’t normal.
But for now, it seemed that her own Yaya was not much different from before…at least in front of her, she was still that slightly awkward, obedient little darling.
This greatly relieved Madam Shuderian.
“Um…probably a being similar to Death itself?”
In fact…right now that very “higher being” who had provided the “material” was sleeping soundly in her room.
“Similar to Death?”
Madam Shuderian was also somewhat puzzled.
She did have some knowledge of the supernatural, but as for these higher beings—humans still didn’t even know how many there were.
Even if they did know, there was no way to investigate them…because most of the time, they simply weren’t on the same level.
“Hmm, did it not tell you its actual name…or title?”
“Its actual name…”
Saying something like “the Goddess of Death” out loud would surely get her labeled a heretic and burned at the stake, right?
Ileia felt a chill at that thought.
After all, in this world, there was only faith in the One True God, the Supreme God.
“No, it just gave me…some kind of liquid, and after I drank it…I gained certain knowledge and supernatural abilities.”
Every word Ileia said was true—but also not the whole truth.
“I see…”
Madam Shuderian nodded slightly.
It wasn’t surprising that higher beings disdained too much contact with humans.
Even humans favored by them were still just humans.
In fact, if one day a higher being ever developed a strong interest in humans, that would be the real catastrophe.
“Yaya, sigh…I don’t want to undermine your confidence, but you must remember, although supernatural power allows you to surpass most people, we must still be cautious in how we use it…”
Madam Shuderian rarely went into lecture mode.
She knew her daughter’s character—
Yaya hated nothing more than others trying to educate or control her.
But some things, as her mother, Shuderian had to make clear, even if it meant being disliked by her precious daughter for a while.
But…to her surprise, Ileia, who was listening to her lecture, didn’t look the slightest bit unhappy.
In fact, she looked very serious.
This moved Madam Shuderian again, her eyes growing misty.
Watching her child gradually grow up indeed brought an indescribable sense of achievement and satisfaction.
“Mother?”
Seeing Shuderian’s eyes slightly red, Ileia for the first time felt a bit flustered.
Did…did she do something to upset her?
Eh?
“It’s nothing~ hehe, I was just thinking how you’ve really grown up, Yaya…already no worse than your two brothers.”
Madam Shuderian picked up her handkerchief and gently wiped the corner of her eye.
“I was always better than those two losers, okay!”
The young lady gave a soft snort, instinctively retorting.
But from the smug tone, anyone could tell that deep down she was secretly quite pleased.
“Hehe~ yes, yes, my Yaya is the best~”
Madam Shuderian affectionately reached out and patted her daughter’s head.
Perhaps now, only she could do so unscathed.
After the mother and daughter shared a moment of closeness, Madam Shuderian’s expression gradually became more serious again.
“But no matter what, Yaya…if it ever becomes too much for you, you must tell us immediately, understand?”
“Mm! I…understand!”
Would Veil eventually backfire on her?
Maybe.
But before that, she’d definitely send that one to hell first.
At least for now…that stupid goddess had absolutely no will to resist her.
As for the future, it would depend on how well she “trained” her.
“Oh right~ after learning you became a transcendent, I had someone look into your whereabouts yesterday…and there were some unexpected findings.”
As she spoke, Madam Shuderian pulled out a parchment letter from a side drawer.
Ileia didn’t feel any dislike toward her mother’s investigation.
After all, she knew full well how much her mother loved her.
“Unexpected findings?”
The young lady took the letter from her mother and began to read through it.
“Actually, if you want to gain information about the outside world, the person you chose as your contact…is starting from a rather low place…”
Madam Shuderian slowly leaned back into her main seat, her blue eyes gleaming clear and sharp.
“Your informant should be a leader, so you can get what you want faster and more directly. Of course~ if you want to cultivate someone from the bottom up, that’s fine too~ Mama will support you either way~”
…Mother, you really do know everything, huh.
And with that tone of yours, doesn’t it sound a bit too much like a villain’s line?
I’d thought before that my dear mother wasn’t just a decorative vase…
Thinking of this, Ileia’s cheeks flushed slightly as she continued reading the letter.
The more she read, the darker her expression became.
Not because it detailed her movements from yesterday, but because of…the last part.
After Jenny went home, she was beaten by her mistress and locked in the woodshed.
The money Ileia had given her…was embezzled.
Most importantly, that was even after Jenny mentioned her connection to Ileia.
Was that woman…tired of living?
She dared lay hands on her people!
Bang!!
Ileia slammed the letter in her hand heavily onto the table before her.
Around her, it seemed as if black smoke and intangible human faces kept swirling and emerging.
Was this…the power over death that Yaya had mentioned?
But Madam Shuderian was not frightened at all.
On the contrary, she watched with some amused interest.
“Mother, I need to take care of this matter first.”
Hoo!
Ileia rose to her feet and slowly bowed to her mother.
“Mm~ Since you chose to take her under your wing, it means you’ve also chosen to take responsibility for her~”
Madam Shuderian smiled, supporting her daughter, then casually reached into a drawer beside her and pulled out a badge.
She tossed it directly to Ileia.
Clink!
A golden badge, engraved with a pair of crossed swords surrounding a luxurious golden helmet, shone brilliantly.
At first glance, it was obvious this was a masterpiece not casually crafted.
Such a thing was normally put in a frame and hung on a wall.
The moment Ileia saw this badge, she already knew exactly what it was.
This was the family badge the Marquis used when deploying his private soldiers.
To those soldiers stationed in the mountains, seeing this badge was no different from seeing the Marquis himself.
“Though we are only a minor knight family, Yaya, you can use this opportunity to send a warning to all the families in the Crystal Capital…”
Madam Shuderian lightly sipped from her teacup.
“You are about to form your own power, and your people are not some stray cats and dogs that others can simply touch.”
…Feeling the aura emanating from her mother, Ileia unconsciously stood a little straighter, then gave a small nod.
There was still so much she had to learn…
“I…I understand!”
Ileia nodded slightly, then quickly walked out of the conference hall.
Twenty minutes later…
A massive carriage pulled by four fully armored, imposing warhorses charged out of the Marquis’ mansion’s main gate amidst the clashing sounds of armor.
Behind it followed twenty-four knights clad in silver armor, their warhorses outfitted with weapons to the very teeth.
And by the time this group moved from the mountain into the city below…
It had already turned into a spectacular sight of each knight being followed by over a hundred lightly armored soldiers.