Elizabeth smirked at the sight of Alia blushing, folding her arms. "Oh, how adorable. The fierce princess of Damnation blushing like a schoolgirl."
"Elizabeth!" Alia snapped, her voice muffled behind her hands as her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red.
Minato briefly cleared his throat, trying to maintain a calm expression, though his ears were slightly pink. "It’s not just Alia," he said evenly. "There are others who rely on too, but..." he paused, glancing toward Alia, "...she is one of them."
Deborah gasped softly, leaning forward. "He admits it! In front of everyone!"
Elizabeth laughed out loud. "Brave of you, human. Most n don’t have the guts to propose in front of everyone."
Alia peeked between her fingers, glaring at her sisters. "Would you two stop it already? You’re embarrassing !"
While they were talking, a loud noise suddenly echoed from outside... so loud that Minato heard it clearly from inside the room.
He imdiately stood up and rushed to the window.
From there, he saw a group of vampires pushing violently through the palace guards, forcing their way closer and closer to the entrance. Several guards were already shoved aside and knocked to the ground.
A few seconds later, Alia walked up to him at the window. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked down at the scene below... the crowd of vampires aggressively pushing against the palace guards with force.
Then she looked at Minato... he looked back at her.
Both of them knew exactly what this ant.
The signs of the revolution were already beginning to surface.
Minato turned away from the window and faced Elizabeth, who was still talking with Deborah.
"What is going on outside... why are your people angry?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but Deborah answered first, brushing her hair back casually.
"Not much, just a bunch of low-level vampire peasants rioting," she said flatly, as if it were nothing unusual. "It happens sotis. They get irritated and start pushing the guards."
Deborah waved her hand dismissively, but the tension in her jaw betrayed her calmness. "Probably angry about blood rations or territory tax again. It happens every few decades. They’ll calm down once the palace guards push them back."
But Minato didn’t look convinced.
The tremor in the ground... the way the guards were struggling... the way the rioters moved with a strange sense of coordination... far too organized for "low-level peasants."
Alia’s fingers tightened around the window fra. "They’re... too many this ti," she whispered to Minato. "And look at their eyes... they’re not acting like normal vampires."
Minato saw it too... those rioters weren’t mindlessly charging. They were covering each other, moving in formations, pushing the guards with precision.
A spark of dread crawled up Minato’s spine... a cold, creeping certainty he really didn’t want to accept... Because of how many royalty-based webnovels he had read consecutively, he knew the pattern all too well.
(Half of those "rioters," if not all of them... are probably soldiers in disguise.)
He swallowed his saliva hard...
Minato kept staring out the window, his jaw tightening as the tension outside grew harsher, the guards struggling to hold the line.
He turned his head slightly and looked at Alia again.
She hadn’t moved for a while.
Her fingers were still curled tightly around the window fra, her knuckles faintly shaking...
Her eyes stayed locked on the group and the chaos below... but filled with a fear she was trying to hide.
And Minato didn’t need the system or any skill to understand it.
She felt the sa dread he did... maybe even worse...
Minato steadied himself, then cleared his throat twice. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was enough to get Alia to look away from the window.
"Alia," he said plainly, "take to the training grounds."
She turned to him, her expression tightening a little. "Right now?"
"Yes," he answered, murmuring. "If things are starting already, I need to prepare fast. I can’t stay here doing nothing."
Alia paused for a mont, contemplating. He could see the concern on her face, but she nodded a second later.
"Alright. I’ll take you."
She stepped away from the window and gestured for him to follow her.
Behind them, Deborah and Elizabeth looked at each other but didn’t say anything. They simply watched as Minato and Alia headed for the door.
Just before stepping out, Minato glanced back. "Oh... and Radelia, you’re coming with ."
Radelia stretched her arms and waved him off. "No. I’m tired. I’ll stay here and rest." She smiled lazily, clearly enjoying the idea of refusing him in front of Alia’s sisters. "Besides, you don’t need for..."
===============
[DING]
[ABSOLUTE ORDER ACTIVATED]
================
Radelia’s smile froze.
Her eyes widened slightly, her posture straightened, and her body moved without her permission, stepping forward and falling in line behind Minato.
"W... wait... Minato, I said I didn’t..." she tried to speak, but her legs continued to follow him, her arms forced to stay at her sides.
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. "What... was that?"
Deborah leaned forward, her expression full of confusion. "Did she just obey him against her will?"
Radelia’s jaw tightened, and she looked away, clearly annoyed but unable to stop walking behind Minato.
Minato didn’t turn around... "Let’s go," he said simply, as if nothing unusual had happened between them.
They continued walking for a few minutes. The sound of their footsteps was echoing loudly throughout the palace halls.
The air was nice and cool, far more comfortable than Minato expected for a place ruled by vampires. It reminded him that despite the danger, this place was made to be lived in... even humans could live here.
After a few minutes, they reached a large round building. Its stone walls rose high, circling upward like a giant arena.
Minato pointed toward it. "Is this the training ground?"
Alia nodded. "Yes."
When they approached the entrance, five knights stood guard. The mont they saw Alia, all five dropped to one knee with their heads bowed.
"Greetings, Princess of Damnation."
Minato wasn’t surprised. He had already seen her strength, abilities, and title in the system, but hearing it aloud from armored guards gave him a deeper understanding of her real status.
One of the knights stepped forward and looked at Alia. "Princess, are you planning on training today?"
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