Elder Havle Alstreim cast a complex gaze at Remora Ethren.

She shyly lowered her head and stood in a submissive position, not trying or daring to match her gaze with Princess Isabella. However, her gaze ended up right over her stomach, which was slightly bloated from her view, but it couldn't be seen with much of a difference from the outside. She curled her dark blue hair and bowed towards them to greet.

This woman was just a political tool, no, she was a pawn who was sacrificed to him in the reign of Kaiser Ethren. She didn't have a say in her life, and Elder Havle Alstreim could use her as he wished. When he slept with her, he was the one who made her a complete woman, and further on, she became nothing more than an outlet for his lust.

Besides, he had considered if she had an affair with any other men as he wasn't with her all the time, but considering that she was monitored and almost locked up all the time due to being given as a gift to him, he doubted if she had any freedom of movement in the first place.

Hence, he didn't know what to do with her, and just brought her here secretly without making a huge ruckus in the Ethren Empire, thanks to Alexi Ethren's acceptance. However, he wasn't exactly in love with this woman to make her his wife either. She was indeed beautiful, but he was not ready to start another family yet.

Nonetheless, he did indeed decide to wait and see.

If the child carried his blood, he was intent on taking care of her. If she wasn't, he decided to kill her along with the child. After all, if the child wasn't his, it would indeed mean that she was lying to him. Returning or exiling Remora Ethren wasn't exactly an option since it would hurt both of their reputations. He felt that he'd rather just kill her and be done with it.

But could he truly kill her? Judging by how he let her freely roam around in this mansion and let her talk to his daughter and granddaughter, he felt that he had started to build up emotions for her within his heart distinctly.

Hence, this situation just ended up creating turmoil in his heart.

While he felt like crap, Princess Isabella didn't bother about these two lovers anymore and looked at the young girl who looked similar to her mother-in-law. Davis had mentioned this little girl to her before, but he did not mention much other than saying that she was special in some kind of way.

She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny before she smiled.

"What's your name?"

Tia Alstreim became startled as she quickly echoed, "Tia!"

"Tia..." Princess Isabella pursed her lips, and after a moment passed, she suddenly raised one of her purplish brows, "Do you want to learn sword arts with me?"

Elder Havle Alstreim and Edgar Alstreim became stunned. They both possessed taken aback expressions.

Tia Alstreim possessed adorable eyes that were moist. It was clear that she was nervous and shy in front of the Conferred Queen's gaze. Her gaze also carried a kind of respect and reverence. However, feeling a bit scared, she looked at her father from the corner of her eyes, not knowing what to do, and saw him slightly nod his head.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something before she looked at Princess Isabella and nodded her head slowly.

"Hahaha!" Princess Isabella's melodious laughter rang out, "My swordplay is good, but it can't be compared to those people who have actually comprehended Sword Intent. Are you sure that you want to learn with this amateurish big sister who hasn't even comprehended Level One Sword Intent?"

"Learn! I want to learn! Because... Everyone knows big sister has made the Aqua Flood Dragon retreat with its tail between its legs!" Tia Alstreim uttered with a fanatical expression on her face before she deflated, realizing that she had overstepped her bounds.

She had actually called the Conferred Queen, big sister! She panicked and felt that she might be severely berated for it!...

However, Princess Isabella satisfactorily reached out her hand and patted her head, "You're adorable..."

"Then, big sister will accompany you just for this day..."

Davis lightly smiled at Princess Isabella and the shy Tia Alstreim before he turned to look at Edgar Alstreim, who possessed a heartened yet confused expression on his face. He knew that Edgar Alstreim could be wondering why the Conferred Queen would treat his daughter with abnormal favor.

A moment later, it seemed that confusion seemed to have disappeared from Edgar Alstreim's face, making him frown with worry instead. Davis thought for a second, but he was unable to think what it was exactly that worried his grandfather.

He took this chance and looked around the room as his eyes imperceptibly flashed red before he blinked.

'So, nothing changed... Tia Alstreim would still die within a decade- Wait! Her mother, Lia Alstreim, would also die within a decade?'

Davis became startled. He didn't understand what was going on...

'Could it be that they were both killed on the same date?' He mused, 'Are their deaths connected in any way?'

The lifespan thread of them was almost similar, meaning that their deaths should be around the same day, or within the margin of a few days. Davis looked at the lifespan thread of Edgar Alstreim, Elder Havle Alstreim, and Remora Ethren before he became confused.

'This is some weird fate... Everyone else has a big lifespan compared to Tia Alstreim and Lia Alstreim. What could it be that causes them to die when they would be the most protected in this household?'

Davis had no way of knowing. It was not like he could see the future. So, he silently wondered as Princess Isabella conversed and played with Tia Alstreim while being watched by the others. None of them noticed that Davis possessed a not so normal expression on his face as it was somewhat solemn.

"We'll move to the Training Hall, okay?" Princess Isabella smiled as she held an ordinary sword in her hand that seemed to have rusted a bit. It seemed to be a low-grade sword that might break at the slightest flick of the finger from her.

Tia Alstreim held her sword towards her budding bosoms as she nodded her head. However, her expression deflated before she became hesitant.

"What happened? Don't you want to train your sword skills in a place where you can fully unleash your power?"

"I..." Tia Alstreim pursed her lips before she ran away towards her father and stopped before him. She pulled on her father's robes, making him bend to her level.

Tia Alstreim cast a short glance at Davis before she stored the sword and used both of her hands to whisper into her father's ear. Everyone looked at them in scrutiny and was sure that Edgar Alstreim's expression changed a bit upon hearing Tia Alstreim's whisper.

"What is it? Am I scary?" Princess Isabella giggled in askance.

"Haha, Conferred Queen, it is not like that. My lovely daughter is asking that if I have to sell the property to require the Conferred Queen to teach her sword arts..." Edgar Alstreim wryly spoke.