Inside Posi City.
The entire city brimmed with a heated atmosphere.
The new imperial army that had just claimed victory celebrated with loud cheers.
Soldiers linked arms, drank heavily, tore into meat, and talked freely about the standout figures on today’s battlefield.
“Haha, that Prince Kaiso talked such a big game. Before even reaching Posi City, he claimed he would wipe us out in a single day. And now? He’s been beaten like a dog. How ridiculous!”
“In my opinion, it has to be Her Highness Stella. If her strategy hadn’t worked, how could we have won so quickly? The main force of the imperial army has been toppled!”
“Yeah, that unexpected move let us crush their main force with ease!”
Stella stood on the balcony, watching the celebration banquet the soldiers were holding below, and a gratified smile appeared on her face.
“Your Highness Stella.”
Stella heard her subordinate’s voice and turned around, finding Wade standing behind her.
At that moment, bandages wrapped Wade’s body. Having been injured in the battle, he looked somewhat disheveled.
Yet because they had won, his face was full of high spirits.
“To be honest, I never expected we would crush the imperial army’s main force so quickly. All of this is because of you.” Wade looked at Stella with clear respect.
“Wade, your attitude toward me seems to have changed rather quickly,” Stella said with a smile.
“Well… I did underestimate Your Highness Stella before,” Wade answered a little awkwardly. “Honestly, I first thought you insisting on going to the battlefield was just showing off. Now I see you truly have the potential to become an emperor. Deciding to follow you is the most correct choice I’ve made in this life.”
“Wade, stay by my side and witness how I become the emperor of the Saint Luo Empire.”
“Yes!”
Hearing Stella’s reply, Wade felt a surge of excitement.
He had already understood her meaning. She clearly held no grudge over his earlier underestimation and still intended to value him.
Expressing his true feelings here had been the right decision after all.
“Your Highness Stella, now that we’ve removed Kaiso, the imperial forces left in the capital are no longer a threat. Should we press the advantage next?”
“Of course. But the soldiers are still human. After a hard day’s fighting, they need to relax a little after the great victory and recover their condition first. The battles ahead will be the most critical ones, so we must be careful. I don’t believe Soren would place all his cards on Kaiso alone.”
Stella rested a hand on the balcony railing and looked down. Some soldiers noticed her and called out her name with excitement. Stella gave a slight nod and waved back at them.
“Once everyone has adjusted, we will advance on the capital immediately.”
“I understand, Your Highness Stella. I’ll pass this news along to the others as well.”
“Mm. Go rest with them.”
Stella turned, left the balcony, and returned to her room.
“I’ll step away for a while and come back later.”
Via lay on a grassy slope, gazing at the star-filled sky with a foxtail grass dangling from her mouth.
Suddenly, a beautiful face entered her vision.
“Via~”
“Stella?”
“That’s right, it’s me.” Stella had found her and lay down on the slope beside her, leaning close.
“Why did you come over?” Via asked, a little puzzled. “Aren’t you celebrating the victory with the new imperial army?”
“Of course we are. I’ll head back in a bit,” Stella said, blinking. “But I wanted to talk with you first.”
“Is there something you want to say?”
“Yes, Via. I want to thank you.”
“Thank me for what? For winning this battle?”
“Weren’t you the one coming up with the plans? I was only coordinating with your moves,” Via answered. “In the end, the key to victory still rested with you.”
“Via, I understand. You never used your true strength. If you had made a move yourself, there wouldn’t have been any need for all that effort. Just one person—you—could have easily crushed Kaiso’s army, right?” Stella spoke her guess aloud.
“It’s not that exaggerated.” Via sat up and avoided Stella’s eyes.
“In this battle, not only you, even Albion never acted. She just watched from the side the whole time.”
Stella rose as well and pointed at Albion, who was catching insects on the grass nearby.
“In her Abyss Dragon form, Albion alone would have been enough to crush the imperial army.”
“Alright, fine. I was holding back,” Via admitted. “I didn’t go all out. Are you angry?”
“No.” Stella shook her head. “You held back because you wanted me to gain real prestige, didn’t you? Merits won on the battlefield carry more weight than anything else.”
“That’s right.”
Via’s thinking had been exactly that.
Defeating the imperial army hadn’t required Stella’s side at all. She alone could have served as the main force, broken Kaiso, and left the rest for the demonkin soldiers under Alef to finish.
But if she did everything herself, once Stella became emperor, no one would truly accept her, and she would have no real authority.
What Via wanted was not a simple puppet, but an emperor who could unite people’s hearts, represent the human race, and set policies that would allow peaceful coexistence with the demonkin. Only then could the problems between the two races be resolved for the long term.
“In my eyes, Stella, your performance was more than satisfactory. I had already prepared myself for the chance that you would lose against Kaiso. Instead, you never needed me to clean up after you and won this battle cleanly.”
“Hehe, so Via acknowledges me?”
“Mm. I believe you’ll become a good emperor.”
“Via, there’s one thing I’m very curious about.” Stella suddenly changed the subject.
“What is it?”
“After the war ends, do you have any preparations?”
“Preparations? Wouldn’t that just follow the alliance agreement we already made? Sign a peace treaty between the two races and invest in developing the mineral veins on the Desolate Fallen Continent—”
“Not that. I’m talking about matters of the heart.” Stella took Via’s hand, her words carrying deeper meaning. “If one day every problem is resolved, can we start considering those matters as well? Look, whether it’s the king of the demonkin or of the humans, neither can stay single forever. Finding someone truly worthy is far too difficult. It’s a personal issue.”
“What?!” Via froze for a moment.
“We’ll talk about it after everything is finished!”
Via’s face had turned a little red. She pulled her hand back.
“Alright, Via. Then it’s settled. Let the moonlight witness our agreement.” Stella gazed at her and spoke with serious intent.
Via felt as if she had just been caught on a strange point. “I…”
*Did I just get tricked?*
But deep down, she didn’t really mind.