Chapter 331

Chapter 331: The Emperor’s Grace, Golden Blood, Divine Descent

The headquarters of the Adjudicating Authority was located in the central courthouse.

In the heavy snowfall, a large and majestic griffin gracefully landed; it let out a clear cry towards the silver-armored judge, who nodded in return and quickly took a letter from the griffin.

Although light as a feather, the wax seal stamped with the Freyr-Baath family crest had a series of effects, including secrecy, durability, and self-destruction.

This was the usual way of communication for the Adjudicating Authority, or the Freyr-Baath Family; in today’s era, it seemed overly traditional and foolish.

Since the establishment of the empire, using technologies inherited from the Emperor such as the Heavenly Project and Ley Line, many Alchemists had built a highly efficient communication system by utilizing the branches of the Holy Sophon that stretched across most of the continent.

As long as one was a citizen, they could apply for an Alchemy Crysta after turning 16 years old and pay a small fee regularly to connect to the local Ley Line.

In theory, with sufficient permissions, all information within the empire could be found on the Alchemy Crysta, making communication and information sharing extremely easy.

However, for the Freyr-Baath Family, who inherited the role of judgment, their initial purpose was to examine, supervise, and, when necessary, make rulings on the Holy Sophon on behalf of the Emperor.

This system, which completely relied on Holy Sophon for communication, was not seen as trustworthy in their eyes. If something went wrong with Holy Sophon or if it had bad intentions, all the information on the Ley Line would become useless.

Therefore, to uphold the responsibility given by the Emperor, they established family rules, ensuring that important information was conveyed only through paper letters or other means, never using Holy Sophon.

Louis took the letter and quickly walked toward the center, feeling a bit nervous. He was born in the countryside of Winterfell and had earned his promotion step by step through many military achievements.

The Freyr-Baath Family held a status and fear that far exceeded that of any high duke or Tower Master and was comparable to the entire Imperial Council in the hearts of the people in this land.

The Adjudicator, who held the power of judgment, was naturally more worthy of respect than any ghost or deity.

Even delivering a letter, the thought of witnessing such a person made his heart, which had experienced avalanches, magical beast attacks, battles against hostile races, and raids on nobles, flutter with excitement.

The design of the courtroom was very strict and cold, with no flowers or decorations. Everything along the way had been enhanced with expensive alchemical magic, and even the marble patterns had traces of spells, resembling a fortress.

The most terrifying thing was that, to keep the Adjudicator alert at all times, even the interior staff could not avoid the traps; a small mistake could send them to the medical department.

Louis walked along the central corridor, keeping his mind sharp as he entered the core area. He looked at the crimson door, completed the report, and waited for the door to open so he could walk straight inside.

The next moment, the Adjudicator, known as the Imperial Blade, appeared before his eyes.

The girl wore a military uniform of black and red, with a family crest woven in gold thread. It looked like a sword made of withered wood, burning in flames. Her pure white face showed no flaws, like a fairy born in the divine era, filled with solitude and indifference.

That kind of terrifying majesty seemed like it could crush a soul at any moment.

Louis’s mind went blank, his blood trembled, and he dared only to place the letter on the desk. He instinctively gave a proper military salute and nervously held his breath as he withdrew.

Charlotte remained silent the whole time and only sighed in relief after the door closed. She rubbed her face and slumped on the desk piled high with papers.

At that moment, all the solitude, majesty, and terror instantly vanished, turning into something light and soft, as gentle and charming as a cloud.

Miss Saintess revealed her true self; she returned to her usual appearance, puffing up her cheeks like a child, with an expression completely mismatched with her military uniform, grumbling in dissatisfaction:

"The Adjudicator is such a bother; it’s so uncomfortable to always have to keep a serious face!"

"It’s awful; no matter how you look at it, this role should definitely go to Honey Xuan, right? If she comes, she won’t even have to pretend!"

There was no doubt that playing a role that was labeled as cold, fierce, domineering, and just… a series of tags, was truly a torment for Charlotte, who naturally had a friendly personality.

The key point was,

No freedom at all!

Charlotte had seen the memories given by Historical Echoes; the Freyr-Baath Family had always been a model of asceticism, known for doing everything themselves. Now, if she wanted to stroll around Avignon City, she could only go in disguise.

Otherwise, the whole city’s people and soldiers, as well as all the judges, would feel tense and stifled, like elementary school students being stared at by their teacher from outside the window, each one quiet as a chicken.

That aside, she was already used to disguising her identity and playing hide and seek with her fans in her daily life.

But the crucial point was, she couldn’t leave!

As an Adjudicator, Charlotte’s position was too sensitive; if she were to go to the capital openly, it would cause a huge uproar across the entire empire, and everyone would hear the sound of knives being raised.

This was the terrifying power that came with the "sudden madness of sharpened blades at night, the empire’s star sways, and the comet rises" buff. If she made even the slightest move, the people of the entire empire would fear that blood would splash onto them.

As for disappearing without reason for a few days…

If she did not speak to her subordinates in advance, it would be even more frightening.

So, for the moment, she couldn’t think of any way to meet up with her companions outside of Winterfell.

Even so, being the Adjudicator who struck fear in the hearts of the empire’s council did have many advantages.

The most important was the boost in fighting power. Like the Great Devil, who inherited the strengths of the Golden Wolf Princess, she also possessed the power and authority that allowed Freyr-Baath to become an Adjudicator.

That was—royal blood!

Indeed, that golden blood which flowed from the heart to the limbs and ran through the soul came from the grace of the Divine Emperor.

This was the greatest secret of the Freyr-Baath Family.

For thousands of years, each generation of Adjudicator had inherited this grace from the previous one.

The golden blood of the Divine Emperor not only gave a powerful body, an almost unbeatable elemental talent, an immortal regeneration ability, a soul-shaking authority, but also connected to the magic power source of the Golden Sea.

It even granted a key that could activate administrative powers to punish the Holy Sophon.

In simple terms, this was like casually using a small cheat, then unlocking a big cheat when the conditions were met, making it a perfect example of an unbeatable boss that swept through the empire.

However, the Adjudicator had to pay the corresponding price.

First, they had to obey the laws left by the Emperor.

Second, this power could only be used when the laws of the empire were broken.

Finally, if any of these rules were broken, the golden blood would fall silent, taking away past blessings and randomly passing them to another pure-blood human, allowing them to inherit the surname Freyr-Baath.

"No wonder I felt incredibly strong after waking up; is this what this bug-like thing is? Wait, doesn’t this mean I can’t escape even more!"

Charlotte originally wanted to find some good news to comfort herself, but instead found another reason she couldn’t act rashly, making her feel frustrated and wanting to catch a Pure White Witch to bully.

Although giving up was also a choice, being in such a high position, one could definitely work with the Countermeasures Bureau to move more good things.

Moreover, the trial court was very suitable for magical girls to learn and train, and they could enjoy resources that were just as good as those at Yves Saint Laurent Academy.

Overall, apart from the lack of freedom, this was still a great opportunity. If given to other new witches, they would be overjoyed to have a fully leveled account.

Charlotte did not feel happy; her first playthrough was at its peak, much stronger than the Adjudicator template, so she naturally did not experience much in terms of upgrades and rewards.

Miss Saintess muttered to herself:

"First, I need to organize my memories, understand what I can do and what I cannot do, then I will go chat with Little Qing."

However, just after she confirmed the emperor’s command, she saw a familiar person in her memories.

Charlotte’s eyes sparkled, and she excitedly slammed her hand on the table. Without thinking, she used the Adjudicator’s authority to ignore the trial court’s magic restriction area and directly activated a space-time spell, disappearing from her spot.

Avignon City, located near the Adjudicating Authority, had an old house.

Miss "Fiona" stood confused in the snowy training ground. She looked down at the silver knight’s sword in her hands, embedded with magic energy gems, and the soft armor that covered her chest, lost in thought.

Unfortunately, she had not yet come to a conclusion.

Suddenly, Charlotte stepped out of the space gate and, in the blink of an eye, hugged the brave yet cute knight girl tightly, rubbing her face and happily said:

"Fiona, call me Mommy! Hurry!"

"Huh? Sister Charlotte! What are you doing here?"

The little girl’s adorable face was bewildered. She didn’t fully comprehend what was happening; she only remembered a bright light in front of Honey Qing, and then she found herself in the snowy training ground, where she was suddenly caught by Charlotte.

Charlotte’s expression was serious as she pinched her daughter’s face, pretending to be strict, and said confidently:

"Little Shu, you cannot call me sister! If others hear it, it will cause big problems; our identities are very important, so we must not act casually!"

Hearing this, Chu Wang Shu slowly began to process the memories given by the Historical Echoes. The more she recalled, the more her eyes widened in shock.

— Fiona Freyr-Baath.

This year, she was 17 years old, an orphan from the battlefield. After being raised by the Adjudicator, she inherited the name Freyr-Baath and was known as the Winter Flower of Avignon City, with a status equal to that of a princess from Winterfell. Currently, she was an intern Adjudicator.

In other words, Sister Charlotte was her adoptive mother!

So, did she really have to call her "mom"? That seemed too embarrassing no matter how she thought about it!

The lovely girl’s mind went blank, and her cute face turned a shameful shade of red. Even when the sly Charlotte kept urging her, she could only mumble out, "I understand."

Charlotte found it very amusing. She didn’t mind this new relationship at all; her heart raced with excitement, and she decided to tease her precious daughter a little more in the Slit World.

At that moment,

Miss Adjudicator displayed the elegance of the Imperial Blade, asking with great authority:

"Fiona, you have gone too far! You show no respect for the great Adjudicator. You won’t even call me ‘mom’!"

At first, Chu Wang Shu wanted to stick to her principle of pretending to be dead and not listening until Charlotte started to play tricks, using guilt and acting pitifully.

The little girl could not bear the torment; she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and, moving her pink lips back and forth, squeezed out a faint sound from her throat:

"I… I understand, Mom."

After her words faded, a sound of something being crushed came from the wind and snow, followed by Charlotte’s triumphant "Yay."

Chu Wang Shu finally couldn’t help but get angry out of shame and was about to grab her silver knight’s sword and sulk on the other side.

However, the magic was always one step ahead.

After enjoying the happiness of being called Mom, Charlotte easily kept her sweet and easy-to-please daughter with just one sentence.

"Alright, let’s call Little Qing together first, shall we?"

Chu Wang Shu completely could not resist the temptation of Honey Qing; she obediently followed Charlotte into the rest area next to the training ground, sitting closely together on a long bench, and finally couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity:

"Sister Charlotte, have you found out where Little Qing is? Can you contact her right away?"

The Last Diva pretended to be serious and said:

"Oh right, because Little Qing and I are a couple, we have a special connection."

The adorable daughter thought for a moment and confidently said:

"Liar."

Charlotte showed no signs of being caught out. Her eyes were bright and cheerful as she pointed to a bracelet on her delicate wrist, full of beautiful flowers, and said:

"This is a magic token of our love, so it can be brought into the Slit World. With it, even if we are far apart, we can communicate freely."

"But, because the empire is so vast, the signal seems a bit weak right now; we need to add some more magic power."

After that, she infused it with magic, as if charging a phone, and connected to the Pure White Witch far away in Yves Saint Laurent.

At that moment, Chu Yuanqing, who was in the academy, was giving Chen Yining and Ji Shuzhu matching storage rings. She showed a surprised expression, quickly handed the unfinished items to Esther nearby, and rushed away.

On the other end of the "phone," Miss Saintess pretended to be a kidnapper, speaking in a serious tone:

"Miss Chu, I have Little Shu with me. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your daughter, right? Quickly give me a kiss in ten seconds as ransom, or I will harm her!"

Chu Yuanqing bit her lip; she felt uneasy because Charlotte would surely be very clingy. So, she quietly looked around, made sure no one was watching, held her beautiful, cold face steady, and overcame her embarrassment to part her lips.

Then, in Miss Saintess’s ear, a voice like gummy bears rang out.

The Pure White Witch patted her hot face and changed the subject with a stiff tone:

"Alright, can you tell me now?"

Charlotte, knowing when to stop, showed a joyful smile and temporarily shared the Chain of Contracts channel with her precious daughter next to her, boasting:

"Little Shu is right beside me, listening to us talk. She is now my adopted daughter, and she just called me ‘mommy.’ Isn’t that amazing?"

Chu Wang Shu moved closer, feeling annoyed, and said:

"Little Qing, don’t listen to Sister Charlotte’s nonsense! I… I do not have that name."

Chu Yuanqing felt relieved inside but also found it a bit funny.

But soon, she realized a problem; if Little Shu had been listening nearby, wouldn’t she have heard her voice?

As Chu Yuanqing thought this, her serious face grew even hotter. She decided to ignore this detail and pretend nothing was wrong, continuing with the important talk:

"Identity, location, ability, situation."

"Time is limited, let’s exchange information first."

Sure enough, when it came to serious matters, even Charlotte became a little more serious.

Soon, the two finished exchanging their situations.

After Chu Yuanqing finished digesting, she felt it was quite ridiculous. She thought Lucy Tiffany’s identity was already amazing enough, especially since Esther just said with her authority, she could help the Countermeasures Bureau empty the library of Chalkiness Tower.

But a brilliant alchemist who was closest to the Crown Prince couldn’t compare to the unmatched Imperial Blade — the Adjudicator.

To be clear, if it weren’t for the Adjudicator having certain restrictions, they could already be popping champagne to celebrate that this exploration could go however they wanted, with no limits.

Tiffany family + Chalkiness Tower + Adjudicating Authority.

With this combination, she could directly ascend to the throne tomorrow.

Although merging the power of the three is quite difficult and will require many rounds of exchanging interests, it’s still an incredible start, quite unbelievable.

Charlotte speculated:

"The Ideal State is a gift from planetary consciousness, and this Slit World is likely very different from what we’ve experienced before."

"So far, we indeed have advantages. Regardless of the challenges our current identity may face, we clearly play a role that can have a profound impact on the world."

Chu Yuanqing thought for a moment. She was not blindly optimistic; she was very clear about the true nature of the Slit World. Even though the empire had the unbeatable Adjudicator guarding it and seemed to be thriving, the final outcome would ultimately be failure.

Similarly, whether it was the Adjudicator or Lucy Tiffany, this half-heir type who exuded great dignity and a hint of invincibility, they were like characters in anime who often got killed off by the story.

So, if one were to be blindly optimistic, they could end up being taken out for some mysterious reason or by a plot that strikes at first sight.

Especially…

"Charlotte, did you notice? The Adjudicator is indeed powerful, but their limitations are also quite obvious. If this becomes known early on, they can easily be targeted."

After saying this, Chu Yuanqing glanced at herself and quietly added:

"Lucy Tiffany is the same; she is a renowned alchemy genius, but her health is very poor. She is naturally weak and not very talented in magic."

"Even if she discovers some secrets of the Demon God Machinery and creates an Alchemical Puppet that can rival legends, her weaknesses are too clear."

Charlotte was about to respond when she suddenly remembered something. She took an unopened letter from her pocket and immediately tore it open.

Then, bloody handwriting caught her eye:

"On the border of the continent, the Quiet Ancient Forest is swallowed by a dark wave. The sanctuary of the High Elves is changing, likely due to the gods descending!"