CHAPTER 68: THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR 3

(Third Person POV)

In the Emperor’s office, located in the imperial capital.

Orlax was leaning back against his desk, arms crossed over his chest, as he stared at three people kneeling before him.

He raised his head from the trio and turned his gaze toward a red-haired girl sitting on the couch.

"Well done, Riana. You’ve captured three people from the court."

"I could’ve caught more, but once they realized I was tracking them, they went into hiding before I could reach them,"

Riana said in a frustrated tone as she recalled what happened hours earlier.

"Three are enough for now. Go rest. I’ll handle the rest."

Riana nodded and left the office, heading to her room to rest.

Orlax shifted his gaze back to the three individuals and studied them carefully.

"All right. Raise your heads."

The three kneeling people lifted their heads and looked at Orlax with visible tension.

"Your Majesty, what you’re doing is a huge mistake. If the court finds ou—"

BOOM!

Before the man could finish his sentence, Orlax delivered a powerful kick to his face, sending him flying into the wall.

"Who told you to speak, you insect? If I hear another word, I’ll kill you all."

The other two trembled on the floor as they watched their companion’s condition.

"Now, I want you to do just one thing. Is that clear?"

The two men quickly nodded, visibly shaken as they stared at Orlax.

A black-haired boy moved toward them and struck the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious.

"Alex, come in."

The office door opened, and Alex entered, followed by several others.

The men behind Alex picked up the unconscious bodies and exited the room.

"As I said, plant listening and tracking devices in their bodies, leave them in front of the court afterward, and make sure to record every word they say."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Alex nodded but remained standing, which made Orlax raise an eyebrow.

"Well? Do you have something to say?"

"Your Majesty... I have a request, if I may."

Alex took a deep breath before looking Orlax in the eye with a serious expression.

"Let’s hear it first. Then I’ll decide whether it’s possible or not."

"Your Majesty, please... don’t assign me to accompany Lady Riana again."

Orlax almost spit out the water he was drinking after hearing Alex’s absurd request.

"Ahem... Why such a request all of a sudden?"

Orlax sat back on the couch, watching the clearly nervous Alex.

"Your Majesty, do you know how we managed to capture those people?"

"I heard from Riana that you came up with a plan and caught them."

Orlax nodded, signaling Alex to continue.

"Well... we made a plan at first, but every time we made one, Lady Riana would ignore it completely, barge into the targets’ houses, and arrest them in their bedrooms. That’s why the rest realized someone was after them, and we couldn’t capture more."

Alex took a deep breath as he finished his long explanation, looking at Orlax anxiously.

Orlax chuckled lightly at his words.

"Ha ha... That’s Riana for you. What did you expect, Alex? She does what she wants. No plan or strategy can hold her back."

Orlax stood from the couch and placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder before leaving the office.

He was now walking through the palace corridors, lost in thought.

’I’ve taken care of the evidence problem. Now I need the Western Empire to serve as a shield to deter the Central Empire.’

He entered his room, grabbed clean clothes, took a quick shower, and lay on the bed to get some rest.

A few minutes later, the door suddenly swung open without warning, and someone entered.

Orlax kept his eyes closed—he already knew the only person bold enough to barge into his room like that.

"Riana, what are you doing?"

He opened his eyes and saw Riana approaching the bed slowly.

"Oh, nothing... I just felt like being here."

Suddenly, Riana jumped and landed on his stomach, causing him to grunt.

"What the hell are you doing?! Why’d you jump on me like that?!"

Orlax looked at her with irritation as she sat on his stomach, looking down at him.

"Come on, don’t be like that. It’s not like that’s going to hurt you."

She lowered her head onto his chest, resting there so she could hear his heartbeat.

Orlax sighed, closed his eyes again, and felt her breath on his chest.

Riana slowly crawled upward, and now her breath tickled his neck, making him uneasy.

"Riana... calm down. I just want to rest."

He opened his eyes to stop her, only to find her already asleep, a happy smile on her face.

He sighed and closed his eyes again, drifting back to sleep.

A few hours later, sunlight hit his face, waking him. He felt something heavy on his chest.

Looking down, he saw that Riana was still sleeping peacefully.

He looked at her calm face for a moment, then gently ran his fingers through her hair.

’She looks so beautiful when she sleeps...’

He stayed like that, watching her until her eyelids slowly fluttered open.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

They stared at each other in silence, then both suddenly moved and sat up.

"Ahem... I’ll go train since it’s still early."

"Yeah... me too. I’ll go train as well."

Both of them were slightly embarrassed by the earlier situation, and Riana’s face was visibly red.

Orlax left the room first and headed to the training hall, his mind racing.

’That was... kind of awkward.’

He pushed the thoughts aside and focused on his usual training.

An hour later, he finished and descended to the palace basement for meditation practice.

Three hours passed that morning with his routines.

After a quick shower, feeling refreshed from the training, he made his way to his office to start working.

While he was seated behind his desk reviewing various documents...

Alex entered, carrying a tray with several light snacks.

"Your Majesty, Lady Elena arrived at the palace an hour ago. Should I bring her in?"

"Yes."

Alex nodded and left the room with a slight bow.

A few moments later, Elena entered the office. She wore simple travel clothes and had her hair tied back in a ponytail.

She sat on the couch, waiting quietly for Orlax to finish his work.

He set the papers aside and turned his gaze toward Elena.

"Well done, Elena. Thanks to your investigation, we’re solving a major issue that has burdened people for years. Do you want something as a reward?"

"There’s no need, Your Majesty. I was just doing my job."

Elena waved her hand, rejecting any reward.

"Even so, I must give you something appropriate. Ask for whatever you want."

Orlax gestured toward her and waited for her to make her request.

"Well... if you insist, I’d like a house in the capital."

After thinking for a moment, Elena made the request with slight nervousness.

"I have no problem with that. But I’m curious—why ask for a house when you could’ve asked for something far more valuable?"

Orlax asked with genuine curiosity, watching the slightly flustered Elena.

"It’s not a great reason. I’ve just never owned a home before. Because of all the traveling, most of my money went to food and gathering information. I could never afford to buy one. So... I just wanted to have one."

Orlax looked at her, a strange expression on her face stirring complex emotions within him.

’Why do you resemble me so much, Elena?’

Through his right eye, he saw red particles surrounding her—the same ones that surrounded him.

’We both possess the same type of mana, and our personalities are so alike. Is it because of our similar lives? Or maybe our hair and eye color?’

"Your request is denied."

Orlax snapped out of his thoughts and said the words out loud, causing Elena to look at him with disappointment.

"Was my request too much...?"

"You already have a home. You don’t need another."

He interrupted her and returned to the documents before him.

"I already have a home?"

Elena looked at him in confusion, trying to remember if she actually owned one.

"Yes. Isn’t this palace already your home?"

Orlax looked at her as if that was the most obvious thing in the world before going back to work.

Her eyes widened for a few seconds before a radiant smile appeared on her face, leaving him slightly stunned by her beauty.

"You’re right... Well then, I want one million credits as a reward!"

"No problem. I’ll give you ten million."

"Huh?! But I only asked for one?!"

"Do you want a hundred million instead? You’re really greedy."

He smirked as he looked at the now flustered Elena.

"No, no! Ten is more than enough. I just want ten million!"

Elena quickly waved her hands to stop the number from jumping to a billion by accident.

"All right. I’ll transfer it to your account later. Go rest now."

Orlax returned to his paperwork, but even after a few minutes, he didn’t hear the door close. He looked up at Elena, who was still sitting there.

"What is it?"

"Well... there’s a small problem..."