They slowly learned about each other’s situations and what they had experienced during their separation.
The Duke asked her countless questions about how she had been living and how the Void humans had treated her. Even though Vivian remained mysterious regarding many details, she still assured him that she had never suffered any injustice or mistreatnt there. Instead, she had gained sothing imnse.
And knowing his daughter well, the Duke could tell just how sincere she was being. At the sa ti, he could clearly see the changes within her, changes that were far too visible to ignore.
But all of those changes were in good directions, or at least that was what he could tell from the sunshine-like radiance that was clearly visible around his daughter now.
Seeing that, a visible sigh of relief escaped from him as both his body and mind finally relaxed at this mont. All the negative thoughts within him, the fear, the terror of losing her, the impatience of not being able to see his daughter or know her condition, all of it vanished completely, and a genuinely relaxed smile appeared on his face.
Which naturally made Vivian happy as well. Being her father’s daughter, she knew very well just how protective he was of her, and she could tell how much this entire situation had truly tested him and how heavy the burden on his shoulders had been all this ti.
Thus, the father and daughter calmly talked with each other as the fleets continued their journey. However, neither of them dug too deeply into certain matters because, despite being family, they now technically stood on opposing sides due to the people they served.
And intelligent as they both were, they wisely kept their mouths shut regarding those sensitive topics.
Ti passed, and before they even realized it, they had already arrived at another transition point, much to the surprise of both father and daughter.
The two could only smile bitterly, realizing they had talked so much and so deeply that they had completely lost track of everything around them. But that only showed just how much they still had to catch up with each other after all this ti apart.
Seeing the look Amber was giving her with folded arms, Vivian could only press her lips together before speaking to her father in a more formal tone.
"Fa... Duke, we will talk again so other ti after we touch down on the Celestial Void Planet. But for now, we are sorry, you and the company participating in the eting will need to leave most of your fleet behind here, taking only one ship with you before boarding the mothership right there."
As she spoke, she pointed toward a massive ship stretching over two hundred kiloters in length.
Arch Duke Elder Grove nodded readily and replied,
"I will have my people organize things here and leave for the mothership imdiately. But what about."
Just as he was about to ask about the situation of the rest of his people and how they would be treated during their stay, Vivian, as though she could already read her father’s mind, quickly added, "There is no need to worry about that. Everything will be arranged by the Star Lord of this system, and we promise that none of your subordinates will face any problems during the duration of their stay," she said confidently.
"Then I have no other worries," the Duke said with a happy smile before adding, "Then I’ll see you on the other side."
Vivian imdiately perked up and replied with an equally happy smile, "Yes! See you on the other side."
With that, she closed the communication channel between her flagship and her father’s ship, though there was a slight struggle in doing so, one she got over rather easily by reminding herself that she would be seeing him face to face again in just a few monts. Thinking that, she beca happier than ever.
Turning toward Amber, Vivian then said, "Go connect with the Empress of Elphenhim’s flagship. I should pass this news to her as well. Seeing you act like that, Amber, I already know you haven’t done it yet."
Hearing this, Amber struggled to control her anger, her body visibly trembling slightly as she spoke through gritted teeth. "That is your role to fulfill, Vivian, as the Fleet Admiral."
Even while saying that, Amber still gave a signal to the subordinates within the command bridge. They imdiately nodded and began pressing several controls while Amber continued speaking to Vivian. "I already covered things up once. Doing it again would not look good image-wise."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Vivian casually brushed it off before sitting down on her command seat with her legs folded, looking ahead at the holographic screen.
Soon, the screen flickered, and the figure of Empress Valoria appeared upon it. She could currently be seen standing near what looked like the command bridge viewport of her flagship.
Struggle and astonishnt were clearly visible on her face, though her attention was not focused on Vivian at all. Instead, she seed completely absorbed in looking out toward outer space, almost as if searching for sothing.
Cough! Vivian lightly coughed once, successfully drawing the Empress’s attention toward her.
"Ahh!" The Empress yelped in surprise as she backed away one or two steps, instinctively thinking it was that terrifying being once again. She even braced her sea of consciousness for another impact.
Only to be surprised when absolutely nothing happened.
What she did not know, however, was that most of her subordinates within the command bridge were currently staring at her in complete confusion, while so even felt deeply embarrassed, especially since this had happened right in front of the dignitaries of the Celestial Void Empire.
Vivian, too, was utterly confused, black question marks practically forming above her forehead as she looked speechlessly toward Amber. Then, while pointing at the Empress, Vivian circled one of her fingers beside her own head like screwing in a loose bolt, basically asking, Is she crazy or what?
Amber herself had no idea what was wrong with the Elven Empress at that mont, but she was even more speechless at Vivian’s signaling. She imdiately looked at her with pleading eyes that practically scread:
Lady, can you please control yourself and your impulses for once?
The Empress might not have noticed Vivian’s actions, but her subordinates were a completely different matter. They had definitely seen it... and honestly, it was unbelievably embarrassing for them.
And just as Amber had feared, a few people indeed noticed those gestures and understood the aning behind them. Their faces imdiately reddened. As for whether it was because of anger or embarrassnt, that was currently unknown.
Just then, Arya ca rushing into the command bridge and quickly whispered sothing into the Empress’s ear.
Only then did Valoria finally realize the situation she had just created. Her ears instantly turned red, and at that mont, she genuinely wished she could find a hole sowhere and hide herself inside it out of sheer sha and embarrassnt.
However, the mont her gaze landed upon the dignitary of the Celestial Void Fleet displayed on the holographic screen, she froze once again in surprise and shock.
Because the person standing before her eyes was completely unexpected.
Wasn’t this the daughter of Arch Duke Elder Grove? The crown jewel of the Elder Grove Household, soone who possessed a unique connection with the Tree of Life within her Empire? A uniqueness that had ultimately made her a target in the first place.
But this attire. S-She joined the Celestial Void Empire too? Just like the other two...?
Confused and stunned as she was, Valoria, being an Empress after all, quickly regained her footing. At the sa ti, she forcefully pushed away the hundreds and thousands of questions that had surfaced within her mind before smiling gracefully and speaking.
"So it is you, Lady Vivian. It is good to finally see you again after such a long ti, in good health and in such a good position."
Valoria subtly stressed the words good position, clearly referring to Vivian’s current standing and rank within the Celestial Void Empire.
Vivian simply smiled calmly and replied courteously, "Hello, Empress. Thank you for your well wishes."
Then, after a brief pause, she added with a faint coldness hidden beneath her tone, "Indeed, so dogs can bark at a tigress simply because they have numbers and the backing of people who fear even stepping into the light themselves."
"As for my position..." Vivian let out an exaggerated sigh while pressing her lips together. "That was simply my luck and fate."
"But I have to say..." she continued while leaning slightly back in her seat, "I feel far more at ease and at ho here than I ever did in Elfheim.."
Though it looked as if Vivian was disappointed by her situation, the reality was the exact opposite.
With her sharp words, she had not only targeted the people who had once hunted her by calling them dogs running on the orders of masters too afraid to even show themselves openly,
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