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“Who am I? This is a profound question that involves the beginning and end of the universe. Since ancient times, countless have dug deep in search of an answer, only to have their halberts stuck in the sand and return home empty-handed…” Lilith said proudly, like one of those scholars explaining some great theory to their own students from the countryside.

“Well… In short, I am someone out of your league.” Lilith chuckled, showing no respect to the old man in front of her even though he had enough authority to enter and leave the palace whenever he pleased.

“You!” The old man said viciously, “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are.”

Lilith reached out and gently pinched Leniah’s soft cheek. The little girl giggled and closed her eyes like a kitten enjoying the touch of its master, completely unaware that such action could damage her reputation as a princess if seen by others.

Hehe, candied fruit skewers are so good~

In any case, Lilith did not care who this guy in front of her was. He had disturbed her quality (abduction~) time with her lovely little sister, and even looked at her with such disgust in his eyes. It was only natural that Lilith reciprocated with the same attitude.

The fact she did not kick him out of this place was already being considerate of Lesiah. This was her place and she did not want to embarrass her by causing trouble here.

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! I am Gregory, one of the three dukes of this empire! Not even the crown princess dares to take that tone when speaking to me!”

The old man was already annoyed that Lilith did not recognize him, one of the most powerful people in the Macedonian Empire. That nonchalant look on her face was definitely adding fuel to the fire.

If the little princess was not in her arms, he would have definitely shown this ignorant little girl how cruel the world of an adult could be.

“Oh my, what a surprise. It’s the duke. I’m totally shaking in my boots. I did not expect to meet the exceptionally handsome and domineering duke who has grown cheap with age in this kind of place. This meeting must be the blessings of my three lifetimes,” Lilith said in a deadpanned voice.

She then tilted her head to the side with an expressionless face. “So, can you get the hell out of here now, Mr. Duke? I’ll have you know that the consequence of disturbing my quality time (more like conditioning training~) with my little sister is very terrible.”

Lord Gregory smiled coldly and said, “I would love to see how terrible it is.”

Lilith’s eyes slowly turned frosty. She was about to do something to hurt this old thing when the voice of a maid outside the courtyard suddenly interrupted them.

“The crown princess has arrived!”

The ice in Lilith’s eyes instantly melted, and her face bloomed like a sweet flower in spring.

Lilith put down the clueless Princess Leniah then stood up, looking at the entrance with a smile.

There, a lovely figure emerged from the shadow. Her gorgeous dress fluttered like butterfly’s wings, her smiling face was as beautiful as a flower in full bloom.

“Lilith! Why are you here?”

It had been a month since they had last seen each other. Although they often communicated through spectrum stones, the time they spent apart was still as long as three autumns. The princess missed her very dearly. As soon as she heard the news, she could not help but rush over to see Lilith.

“Why didn’t you inform me beforehand?”

The princess embraced her.

Lilith took a whiff of her body fragrance. It was intoxicating like the finest wine.

“Hehe. I wanted to surprise you! …Hmm? You seem to have gained a bit of weight, Lesiah.” Lilith chuckled. She had long perfected her so-called “shadowless hands” technique. When using this technique at such close proximity, no one could perceive it with the naked eye.

“Geez,” Lesiah rolled her eyes at her and retorted with a red face. She knew that it was useless, so she had already given up on resisting and just allowed Lilith to do as she pleased. The noble attitude of the princess who was in charge of the empire was gone. Lesiah looked more like a wealthy lady who was secretly meeting her lover.

The scene left both Lord Gregory and Miss Sheila, who rushed her way here with Lesiah, gaping in surprise.

Even Leniah, who was sucking her finger, was now staring at them with her mouth agape.

Lord Gregory aside, not even Sheila, who took care of Lesiah since young, had seen her acting this way. Not even when she was living a carefree life when the late emperor was still around.

That look on Lesiah’s face was just… It was just…

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that something was going on.

Lord Gregory, who was experienced in the ways of the world, had done it all. He could almost instantly form a guess.

No, he was almost certain.

Princess Lesiah… was actually a… lesbian?

What a joke!

No… No… This was the only thing… that he absolutely could not allow to happen!

Lord Gregory immediately felt the seriousness of the matter.

As the crown princess, Lesiah’s every word and action would have a profound impact on the empire. And one of the most important things was…

Her spouse.

Lesiah was the ruler of the Macedonian Empire. This meant there was a great possibility that her spouse might assume the highest power of the empire. After all, the empire had never been ruled by an empress since its founding.

Even if Lesiah’s spouse did not assume the highest power, their offspring would eventually succeed the throne!

By then, the family of the ruling emperor would receive unusually great benefits. At least, they would no doubt gain more power!

This was also the main objective of Lord Gregory’s meeting with Lesiah today.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

The old voice instantly interrupted Lesiah’s sweet reunion with Lilith. Looking at the old man who was half-kneeling before here, Lesiah’s tone turned a little frosty.

“Oh. It’s you, Lord Gregory. What brings you here?”
“The matter that we discussed before… Have Your Highness given it a thought?” Lord Gregory wasted no time in beating around the bush.
“I recall that I have already refused,” Lesiah answered curtly.
“Which is why I asked Your Highness to reconsider. After all… this is all for the sake of the empire.”

Lesiah narrowed her eyes slightly at the old man. Was this old man going to put his cards on the table?

She had no intention of agreeing to the matter that he spoke of, no matter what.

“The matter that I brought up is important for the empire. Time is of essence. You need to make a decision as soon as possible, Your Highness.”
“Enough. I have already made it clear that I will never agree to marry that b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ son of yours!”

Standing next to her, a glint flashed across Lilith’s golden eyes.

Lord Gregory said with a smile, “Please think twice, Your Highness. Although my son’s frivolous ways are a problem, it is nothing serious. I can promise you, those other girls are nothing but his playthings.”

Upon hearing the duke’s words, a look of resentment appeared on the faces of all the women in the room.

However, Lord Gregory seemed to be unaware of it and continued, “The most important criterion to qualify as the spouse of Your Highness is the royal blood flowing in their body. My family is the only branch house to the royal family. Given that the main house of the royal family is not blessed with an heir, who else will be more suitable to wed Your Highness, if not my eldest son?”

“YOU!”

Lesiah’s face darkened. She was about to order someone to throw the old man out when she suddenly felt a familiar warmth in her hand.

Lilith held her hand and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing, Lilith?”
“It was negligent of me to let you deal with such a disgusting man all this while.”

Lilith lifted her head and emotionlessly looked at Lord Gregory, who had a triumphant look on his face.

She simply could not understand where this man’s confidence came from.

“Let me take care of this.”
“Hey, wait. He is one of the dukes. If you kill him, it will be hard for me to explain to the other nobles.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t resort to violence,” Lilith continued, “Does a lady like me look like a violent person? Sheesh, don’t give others the wrong idea.”

“……”

“Have you decided already, Your Highness? To be honest, there is nothing for you to consider as the other two old guys only have useless women around them. But… there’s actually one more choice, but I’m not sure if you will be interested.”

Lord Gregory looked at Lesiah’s flawless and petite figure, not bothering to hide the flame of lust in his eyes.

“Oh my, how bold of you.”
“What do you want?”

The duke looked at Lilith who suddenly stood in front of him scornfully.

For Lilith to be able to so easily achieve what he wanted was proof that she was not someone ordinary. Therefore, he must not be fooled by her harmless appearance.

Then again, she was rather attractive too. Maybe if he managed to achieve his objective, he could find a way to possess her too.

Hehe…

“Hey, your wicked thoughts are showing on your face.”
“What?”

Lord Gregory subconsciously touched his face, but when his hand was halfway there, he realized that he had been fooled.

“Disrespectful brat! I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!” he said angrily.

Teach me a lesson?

Lilith smiled and said, “Too bad, you’re not qualified to do that given how you were asking Lesiah for her hand in marriage on behalf of your beastly son like a pathetic dog.”
“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, who are you calling a pathetic dog!?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That was a slip of tongue. Dogs are cute, I shouldn’t have insulted them.”
Lord Gregory laughed in anger. “You little s̲h̲i̲t̲. You’re gonna pay for this no matter who has your back!”
“Oh dear, I’m terrified.”

Lilith patted her chest in fear, but a mocking smile appeared on her face in the next second.

“I recall you’re asking for Lesiah’s hand in marriage because that puppy of yours has a trace of royal blood in his body right? I understand now. Looks like I have to nip this in the bud, and let you have a taste of the ultimate malice in this world.”

Lilith snapped her fingers. Almost immediately, a tall and strong man appeared in the garden.

The head of maidservants, Sheila, instantly tensed up. She vigilantly looked at the tall man. For this person to be able to appear here without her noticing, he must be one of those most powerful experts in the world!

She must not be careless!

The powerful man turned toward Lilith, then bowed and smiled. Despite being more than three times taller than Lilith, he looked like he wanted to bow so low that he could reach Lilith’s toes.

“Your Highness, how may I be of service?”

Although his appearance and physique matched that of a T-Rex’s, everyone somehow saw him as an obedient husky wagging his tail.

Was it an illusion?

“Go, let him feel your pain,” Lilith ordered.

“Right away, my lady.”

The man stood in front of Gregory. His presence was overwhelming, like that of a lofty mountain.

“W-What… What are you trying to do…? This is the royal palace! You better think about the consequences of laying a hand on me!”

Lord Gregory shivered and took a few steps back. For some unfathomable reason, this person in front of him instilled fear in the depths of his heart.

“I am known as… Green Emperor.”
“G-Green… Green Emperor?”

What a powerful title.

“You are speaking of the Ancient Green Lotus…?”
“No…” the man interrupted Gregory. In the depths of his eyes were endless worldly truths…
“Green as in green grassland.”

Gregory was dumbfounded.

“W-What… do you mean?”
“I have suffered the most agonizing pain in this world. The painful experience made me reflect for a thousand years. Through this cultivation, I finally created the law of Cause and Effect, which is rarely seen in this world.”
“The law of Cause and Effect…?”

The unsettling feeling in Gregory’s heart grew more and more intense.

“Even though it is called the law of Cause and Effect, the effect comes first then the cause. Identify an outcome first, then create the cause… Don’t blame me. You can only blame yourself for offending Her Highness.”

The man suddenly placed his hand on the top of Gregory’s head, and the latter failed to avoid it.

In the next moment, everyone saw the same scene.

The thin layer of hair growing on Lord Gregory’s head instantly turned into a dazzling green.

“You… have been greened.”¹　

A deep voice rang out like the world’s most merciless pronouncement.

1. “To wear a green hat” is a colloquial Chinese phrase that means “to be cuckolded”. Telling someone “you have been greened” also means “your partner is cheating on you.”