After Elashia completed the treatment of the last batch of wounded soldiers, the sky was approaching nightfall.
The entire battle under the [Goblin Emperor]'s mindless fierce assault lasted only a short day.
The war could be said to have ended in an extremely short time.
However, the post-war cleanup work was much more difficult.
The corpses of over five hundred thousand goblin troops and large numbers of [Goblin Giants] made the guards and soldiers responsible for cleaning the battlefield look troubled.
If so many corpses couldn't be disposed of quickly, they would rot within three days.
And once such a massive number of corpses rotted in large areas near the capital, the consequences could only be described as unimaginable.
At best it would damage the environment, at worst it would trigger a plague.
But there were simply too many goblin corpses.
So the guards and soldiers had no choice but to work emergency overtime to dispose of the bodies.
A guard who was burying his head in dragging corpses onto a horse cart complained:
"Sigh, those knight lords only need to focus on fighting desperately, while we have to consider so much more..."
......
At this time, Elashia was in the Empress's palace, preparing with Candice to send a communication to Alexandra.
"Aunt, are you ready?"
Candice nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty, please wait a moment."
While fiddling with the jade pendant used for communication, Candice said to Elashia with some worry:
"Your Majesty, I still must emphasize to you—Alexandra is an extremely unscrupulous person. If she asks you for weapons or resources, please give your reply only after careful consideration."
Candice was truly worried to the extreme.
Would the innocent and naive Her Majesty Elashia be deceived by the scheming Imperial Sister in a moment...
Thinking that the unscrupulous Imperial Sister might exploit a young girl's natural dependence on her mother to trick Elasia out of resources, Candice's gaze toward Elashia carried even more worry.
Looking at Candice who was watching her with concern, Elashia really didn't know what to say.
No, why would I contact her if I'm not giving her resources?
I'm contacting her precisely to allocate some resources to the Iron Empire!
Also, isn't Candice from the Iron Empire?
Why is she telling me to be on guard against the Iron Empress?
Has she... already considered herself an Elasian?
(´･_･`)
Looking at Candice who had almost written her worry on her face, Elashia thought for a moment and could only say seriously:
"Uh... now is precisely the time when we humans need to unite, so we should still consider the allocation of resources and armies from an overall perspective..."
"Everyone's surplus resources should be properly exchanged."
Looking at the extremely serious Elashia, Candice really didn't know what else she should say.
Before long, she finally connected the communication.
On the other side, the tall woman lying in bed reading the Forbidden Book heard the communication jade stone vibrating and her expression immediately became somewhat serious.
It seems her sister and daughter have come to find her.
She wondered how this battle had gone.
According to the prophecy in the Forbidden Book, Elasia should now be severely weakened, or even destroyed.
So, could Elashia once again break through the prophecy of the [Forbidden Book]?
She sat up and connected the communication.
The moment the communication connected, Alexandra's serious expression instantly disappeared like melting frost, replaced by a playful expression tinged with excitement.
Because through the communication's image, she saw Candice looking guarded upon seeing her, and Elashia looking excited.
Immediately, she understood—Elasia must have won this battle magnificently.
Otherwise, Elashia couldn't possibly look so happy upon seeing her.
As for Candice... she had looked guarded when seeing her since childhood, so there was nothing surprising about that.
So Alexandra spoke before they did:
"Oh, looks like you fought a very beautiful victory."
Hearing Alexandra's words, the wariness in Candice's eyes intensified.
Being able to judge Elasia's victory or defeat with just one glance through the communication—this was this person's terrifying observational ability!
Elashia, being praised by her favorite character from the game, immediately showed a somewhat shy smile.
"Hehe, Your Majesty the Iron Emperor, we indeed fought this battle very successfully."
However, upon hearing how Elashia addressed her, Alexandra's expression immediately turned cold, showing an extremely displeased look.
"Oh? What did you call me? Your Majesty the Radiant Emperor?"
She even emphasized the title "Your Majesty the Radiant Emperor" specifically.
"Ah..."
Alexandra's reaction left Elashia somewhat confused.
This... didn't the game's Elashia address Alexandra this way in the early stages?
Moreover, logically speaking, as a scheming conspirator, Alexandra shouldn't directly show her emotions in front of others like this...
However, just as Elashia was stunned, Candice, who immediately understood where Alexandra's displeasure came from, could no longer suppress the anger in her heart!
Candice stepped in front of Elashia and said to Alexandra with an extremely serious and angry expression:
"What? Do you still want her to call you mother?"
Seeing the undisguised anger on her sister's face, Alexandra immediately showed a cold smile.
"What, do our mother-daughter affairs need you to interfere?"
Candice seemed to give no ground at all!
"Alexandra! On what basis?"
"How do you have the nerve to say the word 'mother-daughter'?"
"Is it based on creating her without caring about her feelings?"
"Based on throwing her into a strange country to face everything alone for your so-called 'ideal'?"
"Or based on the 'mother-daughter bond' where you've only met once since she was born?"
"Or based on your 'great plan' to control her after she ascended to the throne?"
"Hmm? Alexandra? On what basis?"
Hearing Candice's angry accusations, Alexandra, who had always been dominant in front of her sister, suddenly didn't know what to say.
Her displeasure just now mainly came from two sources.
One was that she felt there was no need to pretend in front of her sister and daughter.
The other was that when Elashia called her "Your Majesty the Iron Emperor," her heart truly ached.
Actually, Alexandra also knew—when she created Elashia, her heart contained only her great cause of saving humanity.
At that time, she hadn't thought about Elashia's fate and feelings at all.
Even though that spell truly required ten months of pregnancy, when she gave birth to Elashia and looked at the still-infant Elashia, she hadn't felt even a bit of maternal emotion.
But... after truly meeting Elashia, who had grown into a young girl, she changed her mind.
Although she appeared normal during their first communication, immediately after cutting off the communication, she kept asking herself—"Could that adorable girl really be my daughter?"
From that day on, Elashia became a regular visitor in her dreams.
Whenever she saw the girl in her dreams who looked extremely like her childhood self calling her "mother," she could sense a genuine happiness welling up in her heart that she hadn't felt for many years.
However, when it was late at night and she was seriously thinking about Elashia's situation, she indeed reached almost the same conclusion as Candice—she didn't seem worthy of having someone call her mother.
Just based on unreasonably bringing her into this world.
Just based on creating her only for the grand plan of saving humanity.
Just based on giving her a hellish childhood, worse than even an orphan's.
Just based on clearly planning in her scheme to directly control Elashia after she came to power.
Just based on...
Actually, there were many more reasons that Alexandra herself had thought of, which Candice hadn't even considered...
Seeing Alexandra, who had always appeared strong and dominant in front of her, fall completely silent after hearing her accusations, Candice let out another cold laugh.
"What? Nothing to say now?"
After saying this, she showed an extremely mocking smile.
"Heh, seems you know you're unworthy too."
"As a so-called 'mother,' aside from giving her life..."
"Aunt! Don't say anymore!"
Elashia's tearful shout stopped Candice from continuing her verbal assault.
Elashia didn't understand why things had suddenly turned out this way when everything had been fine at the beginning.
"I... wuu..."
"Don't... fight..."
Seeing Candice and Alexandra fighting over her, Elashia instantly couldn't control her tears.
Whether it was her biological mother or her aunt, they were both people she really liked, and also her closest relatives connected by blood.
At first, Elashia wasn't crying very hard, just occasionally wiping the tears from her eyes with her small hands.
But before long, she couldn't control her sobbing sounds.
She wanted to say something, but her choked throat made it impossible to speak.
Hearing Elashia's whimpering sounds like an injured young animal, both Candice and Alexandra suddenly felt as if their hearts had been viciously stabbed with a needle.
So this usually calm and composed Prime Minister could no longer remain calm.
Candice somewhat clumsily stroked Elashia's back.
"Your Majesty... You... I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I shouldn't have fought with her."
However, no matter what Candice said, Elashia kept sobbing: "You... don't fight."
Alexandra's reaction wasn't much better than Candice's.
Looking at the projection before her, she instinctively reached out with both hands wanting to touch something, but only touched the cold wall.
Not only had she failed to gain the upper hand in the argument, but she had also made Elashia cry.
She had lived a smooth life, and such a regretful situation was truly a first.
Now, neither of them wanted to continue fighting.
However, Elashia's increasingly loud crying let them know—they still needed to do something now!
At this moment, the two sisters who had been in conflict for many years suddenly displayed their sisterly understanding!
After exchanging glances, Candice immediately apologized to Alexandra:
"Sister, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that just now... At least you gave Elashia life, didn't you? No matter what, biologically you are Elashia's rightful mother."
After Candice finished speaking, the wise Alexandra didn't say anything to Candice.
She clearly knew—actually, the person she should be apologizing to now wasn't Candice, but Elashia.
After making some gestures toward Candice behind the projection that somewhat damaged her image, Alexandra finally made Candice understand—now Alexandra wanted Elashia to look at her.
So Candice stroked the back of Elashia, who was still covering her little face and crying, and said softly:
"There, there~ Your Majesty, Alexandra doesn't want to fight with me anymore. Can you look at her?"
Elashia gradually stopped crying under Candice's comfort.
Elashia wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked at Alexandra, who was full of regret in the projection, with somewhat reddened eyes.
Seeing that Elashia was finally willing to look up at her, Alexandra immediately said in an extremely guilty voice:
"I'm truly sorry, Elashia..."
"Mo... I really didn't think about anything when I said those words to you just now... I really didn't mean it."
"I also know I'm not worthy..."
"It's just... Candice and I are actually used to interacting this way, we usually get along like this, it's really not because of you..."
"And then..."
Because she was truly too nervous, Alexandra didn't know what she should say next.
She now felt that her usual ability to handle all situations with ease and remain calm in the face of any challenge had suddenly become ineffective in front of Elashia.
Looking at the crying girl before her, she felt as if a powerful hand was tightly gripping her heart, making her so nervous and uncomfortable that she could barely breathe.
Seeing her Imperial Sister, who was always at ease whether dealing with state affairs or arguing with her, unable to even speak properly in front of Elashia, Candice was truly speechless.
Although she and her Imperial Sister had indeed often quarreled in the past, how could normal sisters quarrel like that every day!
How could Elashia possibly believe such comforting lies about their relationship?
After Candice's comfort, Elashia had actually improved quite a bit. Seeing Alexandra, who was strong and elegant in the game, now showing such a remorseful and extremely clumsy appearance, she stopped crying.
As long as Aunt and her biological mother made up, that would be good.
Moreover, Elashia knew that in the game, if Alexandra showed obvious displeasure toward "Elashia," it meant Elashia had successfully raised Alexandra's favorability very high.
As a deeply scheming old conspirator, Alexandra would habitually not show her displeasure even when unhappy.
Being able to express her emotions without any disguise in front of Elashia meant Alexandra had already let down all her guard around Elashia.
Although she didn't know why Alexandra in this world had become like this after spending only a short time with her, this was ultimately a good thing.
Looking at Alexandra, her favorite character from the game, clumsily trying to comfort her, Elashia chuckled and said:
"It's okay, I don't care how you viewed me in the past."
"I only care about how you'll treat me in the future."
Then, under their surprised gazes, she said to Alexandra in the gentlest voice she'd used since coming to this world:
"Please take care of me in the future, my beloved mother."