Under the clear night sky, the Capital was as peaceful and tranquil as ever.
A secret war capable of changing the course of history quietly drew to a close.
When Allen arrived at the Gutenberg Workshop, the battlefield had already been cleaned spotless.
The air was filled with a strong smell of rust and limewater, mixed with the fishy scent of soil after rain, silently telling of the bloody slaughter that had taken place not long ago.
The Mutual Aid Association had already brought the evacuated civilians nearby back home, and free meal vouchers for the Continental Hotel sealed everyone’s mouths.
They ate to their hearts’ content, said not a word about tonight’s unrest, and no one asked a single extra question.
The Mutual Aid Association had won; for them, they only needed to accept this result.
The carriage came to a stop, and Marianne, now changed into a clean dress, was carefully helped down by Livia.
“Livia, I’m really fine now, I can walk by myself.”
Marianne’s arm was held tightly, and that astonishing softness made her experience for the first time what it felt like to be clung to so “tightly”–somewhat helpless, and somewhat amusing.
She secretly glanced at Livia’s towering chest, then looked down at herself…
Marianne immediately felt that life was hopeless.
Livia was only a few months older than her, so how could their development be so vastly different?
Could it be that life had been too hard before, and she had been malnourished?
But now, if she ate heavily for the sake of development, what if she got fat?
If she was disliked by Master, that would be more loss than gain.
One hour ago, after Livia reunited with Allen and Marianne, as soon as she heard that Marianne had nearly been killed by the “Lone Father,” those always cold eyes showed for the first time an expression as if the sky had fallen.
To Livia, Marianne’s death was a trauma and nightmare carved deep into her soul.
Watching her dearest friend pass away before her eyes again and again was a pain she could never escape, no matter how many times she reincarnated.
She did not blame Allen; she knew it was not his fault.
She only blamed herself–why had she not ended the battle as quickly as possible, why had she not stayed by Marianne’s side?
If Allen had not arrived in time, she would have lost the most important person in her life once again.
So now Livia would not leave her side for even a step, insisting on guarding Marianne no matter what, refusing even to go back and rest.
Seeing her dearest friend like this, Marianne felt both guilty and warm at heart.
The only thing that troubled her was that, clung to by Livia in her “heavy girl” form, she could no longer cling to Allen.
So she rolled her eyes, and a plan came to mind–
She could drag Livia along and cling to Allen together.
“You two go back and rest first, leave the cleanup to me.”
Allen had intended to go alone to inspect the workshop’s post-battle situation; Marianne was still gravely injured, and Livia had also been through a fierce fight, so both needed to recuperate.
“No!”
Marianne quickly pulled him aside, lowered her voice, and said seriously, “As a ‘Torchbearer,’ I must personally watch over the comrades who fought bloodily. This is my duty!”
Allen’s brows knitted into a tight knot.
‘This is simply absurd!’
As the core leader of a revolutionary organization, acting on his own away from the mission objective and not caring about his own safety was already an extremely serious mistake.
“Your healing art is so amazing, I’ve been fully healed for a while now, really!”
To prove it, Marianne even jumped twice in place, swearing it was true.
Allen looked at her suspiciously, decided to find reinforcements, and pulled Marianne over to Livia, whispering:
“Livia, talk some sense into her. She risked her life today, so she needs to go back and be confined to reflect on herself.”
The result–
“Allen, didn’t you also risk your life?” Livia’s tone carried a hint of reproach. “You’re using this reason to stop Marianne, but your own actions are not convincing.”
“I am your Order of Succession, and also your blade. Wherever you go, I go. The war is not completely over, so shouldn’t you keep me by your side?”
“If something happened to you, what would I do?”
Allen had not expected that Livia, in order to stay with him, would actually side with Marianne in this situation.
Her sincere feelings and her unyielding attitude gave Allen quite a headache.
Livia was not one of the “Dawn’s Children.” If she came into contact with members of the organization, what if she leaked something?
Marianne was still quietly egging him on from the side: “Livia will eventually join your revolution, so what’s the harm in letting her understand your cause earlier?”
“No means no.” Allen’s attitude was firm.
Marianne had not realized the seriousness of the problem at all.
Hugo, that hot-blooded fool, could join because the benefits he brought far outweighed the risks.
But Livia was different.
She was the “Feng Aotian” chosen by the Evil God, with a nuclear bomb hidden inside her that could detonate at any moment.
Once she was controlled by the Evil God, the destruction she caused would be devastating.
Although he was in the atmosphere of a love comedy, Allen’s rationality had never wavered.
Allen always remembered the Observer’s entrustment: if Livia lost control and became the Evil God’s puppet again, he must kill her with his own hands.
Saving humanity was no child’s play; any unstable factor had to be eliminated.
Livia was his most useful sword, but it was a double-edged sword.
He could play out a love comedy with her and act as the perfect fiance, but he must never let Livia touch the core of the revolution, for that would cause his plan to save humanity to fail completely.
It was not that he did not trust Livia; rather, he understood her too well.
Livia was a true knight. The Justiciar she upheld was “Procedural Justice,” which focused on process and means. In her view, even the worst Order was better than the best chaos.
But his Justiciar was cruel and uncompromising “Result Justice.”
For the ultimate goal of saving all humanity, the violence, purges, and sacrifices in the process were acceptable necessary evils.
Allen’s goal was to rebuild an interstellar civilization.
In Livia’s eyes, the individuals who needed saving were, in his view, merely the throes of class extinction.
Allen was very clear that in the eyes of ordinary people, he must be a great Villain who treated everyone as a sacrifice, while Livia was the Hero silently protecting life and Order.
He was even clearer that Livia, who had witnessed chaos with her own eyes, had more right to speak than he did.
Allen and Livia were both idealists, but their goals were diametrically opposed.
One day, Livia would completely see his true nature and part ways with him.
That was why Allen said they were Tragic Lovers destined to have no good ending.
Seeing Allen resolutely excluding Livia, Marianne secretly rejoiced in her heart.
“Dawn’s Children” and the future revolution were a secret belonging to her and Master alone.
They were Comrades, master and servant, brother and sister.
These unique bonds were something Livia could never take away.
She was delighted inside, but her mouth was unforgiving.
She hugged Allen’s arm and began to shake it: “Master, my good brother, just let me go, I promise I won’t cause trouble!”
“I’ll also help you keep an eye on Livia, absolutely not letting her leak anything!”
Allen’s head ached from her shaking. Looking at her acting cute and shameless, he finally sighed and gave in.
“Just this once.”
He thought to himself that letting Livia come into contact with his cause earlier might help his later plans.
Even if the two would eventually turn against each other, that would be after the revolution broke out.
When that day truly came, he would not hesitate to stab her in the back.
So Livia only needed to be a good “virtuous wife” for Laval House.
The more she meddled, the faster the bad ending would come.
If possible, Allen certainly hoped to achieve a happyend.
If not… he also had the resolve to be a Villain.
Allen cleared his throat and told the two that he was going to take them to inspect the losses of Laval House’s properties in this conflict.
Livia saw the conflict in his heart, but she said nothing.
She knew that if Allen did not want to talk about something, she had best not ask.
This was the distance an Order of Succession should maintain.
Moreover, she believed that everything was within his plan.
She did not need to think too much.
Thus, the three of them, each with their own thoughts yet tacitly pretending to be oblivious, got into the carriage heading for the workshop.
The interior of the carriage was not spacious.
Allen sat upright, closing his eyes and pondering the meticulous arrangements ahead, while Marianne and Livia, heads leaning together, sat opposite him and quietly exchanged private words.
After experiencing a brutal battle, these two girls who had nearly been separated by death were now emitting a powerful gravity, unwilling to let the other leave even a fraction.
This warm scene gave Allen’s Yuri Soul unprecedented great comfort.
This sincere emotion that transcended comradeship yet contained not the slightest impurity was so pure and moving.
Allen even felt that he should immediately vanish from this carriage and leave the entire space completely to them.
Just as he was immersed in this inexplicable emotion, Livia and Marianne quietly exchanged a glance, instantly confirming their next battle plan in silence.
They sat down on either side of Allen, one left and one right, sandwiching him in the middle.
“Hey, hey, hey! The three of us just finished fighting a war, shouldn’t we get some proper rest?”
Allen, squeezed in the middle, wore an expression that was both amused and helpless.
“This seat was only meant for two people, and now it’s too crowded!”
The two girls also seemed to find it somewhat crowded.
Marianne playfully blinked, then nimbly twisted her body and sat directly on Allen’s left thigh.
She also casually pulled Livia over, seating her firmly on Allen’s right thigh.
Now the seat was no longer crowded.
But Allen’s personal comfort instantly dropped from normal to a terrifying “negative value.”
The girls’ soft, warm bodies pressed tightly against his thighs through several layers of fabric.
The faint fragrance in their hair and the delicate touch of their bodies mixed into an extremely terrifying trial, openly challenging the formidable self-control of this old cadre.
What was even more fatal was that, as a pure-blooded Yuri Chef, he was now watching his most beloved CP sitting side by side on his lap.
‘This is simply the cruelest, most inhuman insult in the world!’
His Yuri Soul was letting out a painful wail, crying silently!
Seeing Allen’s stiff, lifeless expression, the two girls instead tacitly pressed even closer.
Feeling the steady warmth from his body, their hearts, which had been tense from the life-and-death struggle, finally relaxed completely at this moment.
Marianne, with a hint of a wicked smile, leaned close to his ear and breathed like an orchid.
“Master, this is a special reward after victory, are you moved?”
Livia silently rested her head on his shoulder, gently closing her eyes, like a little bird that had finally found a safe harbor.
Allen’s body went completely stiff; he did not dare move even a little, and could only silently shed two streams of bloody tears in his heart.
‘Moved? I don’t dare move!’
Oh well, Allen quickly found a new position for himself.
That’s right, as a weed in the Lily Garden, his reason for existing was to set off the beauty of the flowers.
He only needed to play the role of a chair without thoughts or feelings.
Once he understood this, Allen completely gave up pointless resistance, even deliberately softening his breathing, wholeheartedly providing the perfect environment for the two Heroines to cuddle.
Under the pincer attack of two top-class beauties, this guy’s self-control could still be this high–even Livia could not help but feel it was somewhat troublesome in her heart.
However, Marianne naturally had plenty of ways to deal with this Allen who was pretending to be a plant.
“Wait… what are you two doing!”
Allen suddenly opened his eyes and was horrified to find several restless little hands already wandering all over his body.
He wanted to struggle, but his arms were pinned tightly from left and right, completely unable to move.
“Master, you’ve worked hard too, let me give you a massage.”
Marianne’s fingers traced circles on his chest with ill intent.
“Hehehe, Master’s pectorals…”
“A massage should be on the back! And that’s ribs, not muscles!”
As if she had not heard his protest at all, Marianne’s hands grew even more dishonest, even beginning to slowly explore downward along the lines of his abdomen.
This sudden touch made Allen’s whole body tremble violently.
“Hey! If your hand goes even a little lower, just see how I’ll deal with you later!”
Allen tried to struggle again, but Livia’s fingers gently pressed down on his shoulder.
“Allen… does this feel a little better?”
Livia’s voice was very soft, but her fingers found a bruise on the back of his left shoulder with incredible precision.
“Livia, I advise you to be kind… Ow ow ow ow!”
A piercing, bone-deep pain suddenly struck, and Allen cried out in pain on the spot.
This noise made the Butler outside, who was seriously driving the carriage, couldn’t help but grimace, thinking that Master’s voice sounded truly pitiful.
Seeing that Allen had been enduring the pain all along, Marianne, with a heartache, immediately withdrew her mischievous hand.
Livia’s beautiful blue eyes were filled with undisguised reproach.
“Why didn’t you heal yourself?”
Allen explained with a grimace, “Keeping just the right amount of pain keeps my mind clear at all times!”
“Otherwise, if I clumsily ruined the Yuri! Wouldn’t I become a sinner of history!”
“Sigh, if you hadn’t said that last part, I almost would have really believed you.”
Livia sighed helplessly.
In the end, the wound that Allen had been unwilling to heal with Divine Power was completely healed by Livia using the power of the Star Emblem.
After today’s fierce battle, Marianne had already exhausted all of her Engraved Emblem Power, and Allen’s Divine Power was also nearly depleted.
Compared to these insignificant little wounds, he needed to use his precious power to save those who truly needed help.