The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Hearing Lady Livia's cautious words from the second row of tables on the right, Veronica, sitting at the head of the table, replied with a smile:

"These are all delicious, Lady Livia. Your cooking is amazing and impresses me."

With that, she picked up a piece of meat that seemed to be prepared using some kind of aging method and brought it to Soshyan's mouth. To accommodate their height difference, Soshyan was sitting cross-legged on a cushion while Veronica sat on a chair.

"Husband, eat."

Although Soshyan looked slightly helpless, he opened his mouth. Such an intimate gesture surprised the Eldar around them a little. Sharie and Kay moved closer and whispered to each other, while Cordelia blinked curiously. Luvia Greta, sitting in the last row on the right, remained aloof, but her eyes kept glancing at Soshyan.

"Her Majesty and His Highness's relationship is truly enviable."

After the initial surprise, a smile appeared on Livia's face, and she sincerely exclaimed:

"It's not easy."

Veronica blinked and asked:

"Why do you say that?"

"Your Majesty, although I haven't seen much of the world, I know that even for a man and woman from different clans to fall in love, they have to overcome many obstacles. Clan feuds, parental views, and the words and eyes of those around them are all obstacles that love and marriage must overcome. And what you and His Highness have to overcome is more than just these. The difficulties must be unimaginable. Perhaps this is where the Mother Goddess's true compassion lies."

"Lady Livia, listening to your words, it seems you don't mind Soshyan's race?"

"All are living beings, all have emotions, all know what love is, so what great difference is there? True superiority, I think, should not be reflected in bloodlines, but in soul and character."

"Cough cough—"

Valentino Ravich coughed twice, seemingly wanting his wife to stop this topic.

But Veronica didn't want to stop there. She said softly:

"Lady Livia, your views are truly surprising to me. Over the years, I have heard countless stupid remarks. It seems that in the eyes of some ministers, anything an Eldar does is forgivable, while anything a non-Eldar does, no matter how good, is wrong or has ulterior motives. I don't even know what has driven them to be so narrow-minded."

"Your Majesty, it is this chaotic, war-torn galaxy. The Eldar are as despicable as the Drukhari slavers, and humans are as despicable as the servants of those great enemies. But people tend to remember the bad things more easily. Like this invasion, the people of Lyyanden may not forget it for centuries. But that doesn't change the fact that His Highness is a great leader and your lover. And humans are indeed very complex."

Livia glanced at her husband, as if telling him that she knew what she was doing, and then said:

"Your Majesty may not know, but the clan I belong to was not originally from Lyyanden, but refugees who escaped from another maiden world. That was almost ten thousand years ago. Our ancestors lived on another world. One day, they learned that a nearby world was being tortured by Drukhari slavers. Out of compassion, we rescued those humans and allowed them to settle in our home. The two sides have always lived in peace, until the human Imperium sent their brutal armies. The ancestors recorded that they were a group of pitch-black demons. They burned the entire world, and those settled humans did not accept surrender, choosing to fight alongside the Eldar who had taken them in, until they were burned to ashes together. At that moment, in the eyes of their so-called compatriots, weren't they the same as the Eldar?"

Veronica nodded.

"I see. No wonder your views are so different."

At this moment, Cordelia suddenly asked.

"Your Majesty, how did you and His Highness meet?"

"Cordelia, don't be rude!"

Valentino Ravich quickly scolded his daughter, but Veronica replied with a smile.

"Like any first encounter between an Eldar and a human, it naturally started with a conflict. At the time, I really wanted to kill him, and he felt the same way."

At this moment, Prince Yvraine of Lyyanden hesitated for a moment, put down his wine glass, and said:

"Phoenix King, I still don't understand, why did the court just let this matter go?"

"Shut up!"

Valentino Ravich slammed the table and glared at his son.

"I told you not to mention this again! If you don't, go to the Dragon Riders to reflect, don't embarrass yourself here!"

Soshyan took a sip of frost wine. He knew what Yvraine was talking about. In fact, before the battle was over, the High Warlord strongly expressed that they should retaliate against the Imperium, at least destroy the governor's original world. The Harlequins of the Frozen Stars Troupe were even more eager to move. It was he who forcibly suppressed these voices with the authority of the Eternal Queen.

When he put down his wine glass, he looked at Yvraine with a calm expression.

"Prince Yvraine, I think your father should have explained this to you. But this is a private occasion, so it doesn't matter to say it. Any revenge requires a price. Pulling the trigger is a very easy thing, but the problems that need to be faced after pulling the trigger are not so easy. Prince, are you willing to sacrifice another 100 of your people's lives to complete a revenge?"

Yvraine froze for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"No, I'm not willing, but—"

"Yvraine, I can tell you one thing very bluntly. I am an Astartes of the Imperium. I know the power of the Imperium better than anyone else. There are trillions of individual humans. They may be fragile individually, but when they are gathered together by the flames of revenge, no Eldar world can resist it. A revenge may bring a greater retaliation. If just an ordinary Eldar thinks this way, I think it's understandable, but you are a prince, the future heir to the Lyyanden kingdom. You need to see the interests of the entire kingdom. If you cannot put the interests of the collective above your personal emotions, then you cannot be a good leader. That's why I want to say so much to you."

After listening, Yvraine looked down at the wine glass, not knowing what he was thinking.

At this time, Odval, in the first row on the left, immediately came out to smooth things over.

"Your Highness, I heard that the court is also preparing to recover the lost Craftworld of Malan'tai recently?"

Soshyan nodded.

"Yes, there is such a plan. After all, we're already here, and it's not far away."

"This Craftworld also participated in rescuing us in the past, but unexpectedly it was destroyed. Until now, we don't know what happened to Malan'tai. The Iyanden are tight-lipped about this. Even if we want to recover it, I think we should participate."

Odval's words were recognized by the people around him, and Valentino Ravich also echoed:

"That's right. No matter what, it once fought to save the Lyyanden kingdom. Now, even if only the shell remains, we have reason to take it back from the dirty greenskins."

Seeing the other party's statement, Soshyan immediately responded:

"In that case, I also look forward to fighting side by side with the warriors of the Lyyanden kingdom again. Once the sentinels have confirmed the location of Malan'tai, we will set off immediately."