<em>Attached Subus</em>


    The field military didn''t have an exact location for their main camp during wars because the officers would go wherever the frontlines were. Wars were the quickest way for young officers to be promoted, which was why they advanced until they were triumphant. However, during times of peace, the field military, which mainly consisted of descendants of noble military families in the North, would gather at Belfer City.


    Belfer City was named after a war hero and humanity''s first capital. The city was the root of humanity and the Northern noble military families. Humanity''s imperial family had left the city. Despite their departure, the military still stayed at humanity''s military''s location where blood was shed and glory was attained - or lost. Belfer City was also Veirya''s home.


    A young man walked to the huge house at the heart of the city and then went down the stairs. The city, which was no different to a military camp, housed nothing but soldiers. Further, they didn''t ept new people unless they thoroughly knew them. That was why it was the safest and most secretive ce for the young man. Not even Queen Sisi''s eyes and ears could reach the ce. In saying that, it seemed she never nned to nt spies there, as there was no precedence of nobles in the North rebelling. They viewed loyalty as honour and glory.


    The young man went to the dungeon and lit up a candle that was situated on a pir. The soldiers above understood what the me meant. So ordingly, they shut the door to the dungeon. The dark and cold air in the dungeon instantly gushed forth. There were several heavy pirs in the dungeon. Between them was a long table. People were seated on either side. Everyone had their faces covered under their ck hoods. The young man also wore his hood on, thereby hiding his face in darkness. He joined them at the table.


    The young man looked at the people on both sides. Neither side spoke. He cleared his throat and rose: "Everyone, God and our fathers are watching from above. We must take responsibility for what we will do. What we are doing is not despicable insurrection, but a measure to ensure the long-standing survival and prosperity of this empire. A monarch who leads their empire to destruction is not qualified to be a monarch. Our loyalty is reserved for a monarch who will fight for the empire. Not one who leads their own empire to destruction. We cannot serve her; we will only be people that the masses will give up on if we do. Thus, my purpose in calling all of you here is to have you support me with something. I, therefore, hope that you can support me by not sending reinforcements when the current Queen is defeated. Instead, I want to ask you to help me crown Lord Veirya."


    A man asked, "Lord Veirya? Is she a suitable candidate for the throne?"


    The man with the query ignored the first part because the people sitting at the table were there with the decision to overthrow Queen Sisi already. Consequently, they didn''te to discuss whether or not to overthrow Queen Sisi but what to do after overthrowing her.


    Everyone in the army was wise. Overthrowing Queen Sisi was simple. The challenge was how to ensure the empire continued to survive after her abdication. It was a simple matter to destroy, but to create an empire would require millenniums if not centuries. Their goal was to save the empire; to that end, they needed to ensure the empire would not copse as a consequence of Queen Sisi''s removal.


    The soldiers knew theycked what it took to run a nation. Furthermore, the people wouldn''t ept a traitor as a ruler. Queen Sisi subdued the demon race and led the empire to the apex. The people still fervently supported her. Subsequently, it would take someone the people would acknowledge to rece Queen Sisi. Essentially, they needed a hero the people trusted.


    Veirya was the hero who personally slew the Demon King. Lots of soldiers considered her the messiah of the world. The legends imed she had the ability to singlehandedly take on a hundred men. Hence, if Veirya was crowned, nobody would question her. Wealth and honour should belong to a hero. Those were what motivated more people to be a hero. Nobody would question Veirya as a monarch. As a matter of fact, the people would be d to have their hero rece a fool the elves demolished. Veirya, therefore, was a qualified candidate for the helm. The issue was that nobody knew if she had the brains to run a nation.


    The young man nodded: "Worry not. Lord Veirya may not be interested in politics, but her attendant is a brilliant man. From a ce that nobody could imagine, he dismantled the chapel''s scheme to recreate a new Demon King. He discerned there were no weapons and protected those he wanted to protect from Her Majesty. Moreover, he, too, holds the opinion that we should not attack the elves this time, which goes to show he is astute. Furthermore, he, like us, is loyal to Lord Veirya. Given those points, he is absolutely willing to go through hell for Lord Veirya."


    "The thing is, have we considered Lord Veirya''s opinion on the matter? You could go as far as to say that she is Her Majesty''s personal bodyguard. She''s incredibly loyal to Her Majesty. She''d interpret our revolt as a form of betrayal; do you think she would peacefully sit down and talk it over with us and then ascend the throne?"


    The young man exined, "Lord Veirya refused to participate in the attack on the elves. Her Majesty is unaware, but we are aware. Lord Veirya isn''t pregnant. She showed no signs of pregnancy when she wasst in the imperial capital. There is definitely something fishy about her sudden pregnancy. It proves Lord Veirya also doesn''t want to fight the elves and used her pregnancy to avoid taking part in the war. Now that we look at it, Her Majesty is just one individual. Everyone with a functioning brain knows the uing war will inevitably fail. Her Majesty is the only one who insists on fighting. That, therefore, is why we are going with the flow of history. What we''re going to do will definitely seed; you need not question that."


    "It sounds as though you''ve thoroughly investigated everything. With that said, it''s best to confirm Lord Veirya''s stance on the matter first. All you know is that Lord Veirya doesn''t want to spill elven blood, but we don''t know if she is willing to be Queen or not."


    The young man nodded: "I will check with her. The garrison soldiers are currently assembling; by my predictions, they should be preparing for the elves very soon. Her Majesty is serious this time. She won''t let us go. Let''s get ready, shall we? Should Her Majesty sessfully conquer the elves, we will admit we were wrong and willingly obey Her Majesty. To the contrary, should she fail, the reigning Queen has no reason to continue to exist."


    "Uhm."


    Everyone reached a consensus. The group of generals sitting at the table knew how to protect their empire as officers. Queen Sisi always wanted to fuse herself with her nation, thereby creating a situation where being loyal to the nation meant being loyal to her. The generals from the previous generation understood that the nation and Queen Sisi were two separate entities. Monarchs came and went, but thend remained silent. Soldiers spilt blood, which was also what soldiers loved most, on every inchnd in the nation. The generals called themselves patriots. Not The Monarch Protection Party. Of course, those names didn''t include the garrison soldiers, for the field military didn''t consider the garrison soldiers to be part of them and vice versa.


    There would nevere a day where the Queen''s left and right wings worked together. All she could do was ensure a temporary peace. s, the peace equilibrium could no longer be bnced.


    ========


    Current time in the North.


    "When is Papa going to be back?"


    Leah stabbed her fork into her fish over and over while supporting her chin in her hand and whinging. Angelina nced over. Leah was gloomy recently, and she wasn''t very well physically. Leah''s physical condition seemed to be connected Lin Dongqing; she seemingly needed to be with her father, or her physical condition would deteriorate.


    Angelina also noticed that Leah''s appetite had taken a big dip after he left for just three days. Leah looked ill. Her father seemed to be a spiritual pir of support for her and even more so a physical pir. Leah was literally withering day by day after being separated from her father. Apparently, leaving Leah behind was a mistake.


    "Don''t worry. There''s no way your father and Veirya can do anything while they''re away. Given Veirya''s wits, do you think anything would happen? Don''t worry. Come on, eat up to stay healthy. Your father will get mad at us if hees back and sees you looking this bad."


    Angelina rubbed Leah''s head. Leah silently looked down and cut her fish. Anna came downstairs and gently sighed: "I never expected the three elves to choose toe back. They didn''t answer when I asked them where they went. I''m honestly curious. But nheless, it''s quite nice that they''re here."


    Angelina looked at Leah and smiled: "She''s begun teaching Leah the elvennguage after all. Leah, how much have you learnt?"


    Leah sighed. She hopelessly replied: "Leah… Leah has only learnt ten numbers and the elves'' characters. Their words areprised of four of characters… Leah… Leah has not fully grasped it yet…"


    "There''s no rush, Leah; you''re already learning very quickly. We can speak with elves, but we don''t know how to read their text. It''ll benefit you if you canprehend their culture. You also need to learn humanity''s text, though. Don''t let the elf teach you nothing but elven stuff. Make time to learn humanity''s stuff, as well."


    Leah nodded and then ced down her fork: "Sister Angelina… I''m feeling slightly sleepy…"


    "Okay. Anna."


    Anna nodded after receiving Angelina''s signal and led Leah upstairs. Angelina continued sitting at the table with a nk look. She noticed that Leah practically didn''t even have a bite of her fish. Strictly speaking, she ate just a tiny bit, but that was it.


    Angelina entered deep thought: "Leah was still fine the first day after he left, but her mood continued to worsen ever since. Leah is a subus; I''m aware of that. Why do subi react that way, though? Must subi rely on a man? Wait, don''t tell me… he''s… her food?!"