What is happiness?

  Each person had his own definition of happiness.

  A starving beggar would be satisfied with just a morsel of food. An overworked employee would be overjoyed to be granted a break. A soldier fighting on the battlefield knew of no greater happiness than to be granted permission to return home.

  Roel felt his heart filling up with bliss as he quietly gazed upon the fast asleep Lilian.

  In the quiet bedroom, Lilian curled up beside Roel like a little cat. Her lips would rhythmically open and close along with her breathing, and her long eyelashes that sheltered her amethyst eyes trembled ever so slightly with her movements. She looked adorable.

  Lilian’s beauty was cold and noble.

  Unlike Alicia, her coldness came not from a lack of concern for others but an innate loftiness ingrained in her bones. Unlike Charlotte, her nobility stemmed not from her graceful demeanor but an overwhelming air of dominance.

  Using a metaphor, she was reminiscent of a lone lotus that had blossomed at the edge of a snow mountain. Her beauty bewitching, but the threat of slipping over the edge and into the despair left none daring to approach.

  This unique disposition of hers would only be reined in when she was asleep, but this secret was privy only to those whom Lilian deeply trusted.

  Roel enjoyed watching the usually domineering princess dropping her guard and curling up like a little kitten. At the same time, he felt apologetic because he could tell that this wasn’t her sleeping position but an adjustment made to alleviate the discomfort she felt in her abdomen.

  After having carried Lilian into the bedroom to inspect the ‘crime scene’, Roel felt a sudden rush of adrenaline irrepressibly racing through his body, but Lilian was already at her limits. She was still able to hold on previously due to her fluster of wanting to clean up the scene, but as soon her mind relaxed, the accumulated exhaustion and pain swiftly overwhelmed her.

  Even for transcendents with an enhanced rate of regeneration, internal injuries were much more difficult to deal with than external injuries. Lilian’s condition was definitely leaning more toward the severe side. Every time Roel asked about it, Lilian would bite her lips and stare at him with grudging eyes.

  “It’s all because you’re too…”


  “Senior?”


  “… Forget it.”


  The furiously blushing Lilian would turn her head away at this moment and change the topic, and Roel didn’t dare to probe any deeper either.

  Neither of them was in a good condition to continue exploring the fog—Roel’s soul was unstable whereas Lilian was exhausted—so they decided to rest up first. Soon after Lilian lay down on the bed, she fell asleep in Roel’s embrace.

  That was also when Roel started peeping on her sleeping visage. He had been staring at her for quite a while now. Her beautiful visuals played a part as to why he couldn’t have enough of looking at her, but the greater reason would be the shock he was feeling.

  Among the women he was close with, Lilian was the last one he had gotten acquainted with. There were times when his idle mind wondered about whom he might get together with, but he had always subconsciously skipped over Lilian. The perfection she displayed had always made her appear out of reach to him.

  She was smart, powerful, and influential. It felt like there was nothing she needed from him at all. For that reason, Roel always maintained a courteous distance from Lilian, never daring to come too close to her.

  It was not to say that he didn’t harbor any feelings of attraction toward her, but he always shut them down thinking that they were rude and inappropriate. He chose to respect and admire her as an older sister, but that was a naturally restrained relationship.

  On the other hand, Lilian appeared to be much more casual about their relationship. She doted on him without any reservations and unconditionally supported him regardless of what he did.

  From time to time, Roel would nervously wonder if her doting would stop once he became stronger than her. He knew that she was a bro-con, after all. When her younger brother no longer needed to be cared for, there wouldn’t be any reason for her to show affection anymore. If so, would their relationship slowly fade out?

  Now that they had verified each other’s feelings, Roel understood that those were just needless worries. Their relationship had long transcended affinities to become something much deeper. This realization became even more vivid when Lilian told him that she felt happy. That very moment, he felt something warm and intense pouring out from his heart.

  He could hardly curb the raging emotions within him. but he dared not disturb the peacefully sleeping Lilian. Left with no choice, he could only divert his attention to the rest of the room to distract himself.

  Interestingly, there was meticulous attention devoted to the details even though Lilian had summoned this room in a rush. The room had an old but traditional design that was aligned with Lilian’s preference, such that Roel suspected it to be her favorite room of the Ten Fortresses. It showed how seriously she took their first time despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.

  Speaking of Ten Fortresses, the ability had undergone an upgrade after Lilian advanced to Origin Level 2. She was now able to freely use the rooms of the Ten Fortresses, be it the bedrooms or bathrooms, thus greatly expanding the spell’s utility.

  What made this ability even more powerful was that there was no discount to its defensive ability at all. The room they were in was also part of the Ten Fortresses’ domain and boasted defensive prowess comparable to the Ten Fortresses’ walls that Roel had seen before.

  It was extremely unlikely that any enemy would be able to breach this place.

  “It’s getting more and more ridiculous,” Roel murmured with a sigh.

  This marked the moment that Ten Fortresses transcended being just a simple defensive spell. At this rate, there was a good chance that Lilian might be able to utilize the ancient relics in those fortresses in the near future.

  One had to remember that the fortresses of Ten Fortresses were created with the greatest wisdom and technology of humankind at their peak. The ancient relics contained within them were beyond the wildest imagination of those living in the present era.

  Roel would go as far as to say that not a single offspring of the Ackermann Imperial Family had been able to take control of those ancient relics since the inception of the Third Epoch. Otherwise, they would have used those weapons of mass destruction to wage a war to unify the Sia Continent.

  If Lilian succeeded in reaching that new peak, she would become a mobile fortress that boasted defensive and offensive means. Her utmost defensive prowess, extremely destructive ancient relics, and endless waves of soldiers would make her a terrifying menace to deal with.

  Even Roel wouldn’t be confident of subduing her if she ever reached that level.

  Lilian’s tremendous potential left Roel feeling a little envious, but it also made him breathe a sigh of relief too. Every bit of additional power she grasped would increase her chances of survival at the eastern border. If there was anything he could do to help her make a breakthrough to Origin Level 1 right away, he would carry it out right away.

  At the same time, he firmed up his determination to attain greater power. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself and his loved ones from the dangers that lay ahead.

  Recalling the Fallen roaming inside the town they were in, Roel’s golden eyes turned solemn. It took a while before they calmed down once more.