"Whoosh!" The cold wind howled, sweeping across heaven and earth, as endless snowflakes filled the entire world.
Dilia, draped in a long white fur robe, stood quietly at the window gazing at the world outside. Behind her were two magic beasts: the Earth Bear 'Hutton' and the Thunder Gale Wind Eagle 'Parei'. Both beasts were silent.
A sigh escaped Dilia's lips.
"Father, Mother..." Dilia's face was full of bitter smiles. She never expected her parents to deceive her. They had said her grandmother was critically ill, but when she rushed back at top speed on the Thunder Gale Wind Eagle, she found her grandmother was still in good health.
The night she returned...
Dilia angrily confronted her parents: "Father, Mother, why did you trick me into coming back?"
Originally, Dilia had intended to stay with Lin Lei forever.
Dilia's father, Dea Lane, looked at her and asked, "Dilia, have you fallen for that Dragon Blood Warrior, Lin Lei? Is that why you haven't accepted any other boys all these years since you came back?"
Dilia was shocked at the time; she had never told her father.
"How did you know?" Dilia asked immediately.
Her mother sighed, "Dilia, why didn't you tell us what was in your heart? This was only told to us after your teacher, Master Longse, returned to the empire. He asked us to prepare for your wedding to that Lin Lei."
Dilia, who had been furious, suddenly felt shy.
Dilia's parents glanced at each other, shaking their heads with bitter smiles. Her father, Dea, said solemnly, "My dear daughter, I must solemnly tell you now that your being with Lin Lei is possible."
"What?" Dilia looked at her father.
Her father said sternly, "Dilia, Lin Lei's brother is the husband of the O'Brien Empire's seventh princess. Without a doubt, Lin Lei is a powerhouse of the Saint Realm from the O'Brien Empire. And the relationship between that O'Brien Empire and our Yulan Empire, you understand."
"Yes, our Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire are the two most powerful empires on the continent, hostile to each other. But what does that have to do with me and Lin Lei?" Dilia was indignant. "Do you, Father, think that my being with Lin Lei will affect the family?"
"Yes."
Dea Lane nodded. "A family that possesses a Saint Realm powerhouse will thrive. If you marry Lin Lei... then once a major war breaks out between our Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire, the empire will not dare to trust our Lane family too much."
Dilia was very resentful at this moment.
She found her father's words laughable.
"Dilia, just think, if you were the emperor and discovered that the child of a prominent family in the empire had married a Saint Realm powerhouse from an enemy country, wouldn't you worry that the family might betray you?" Dea Lane said sternly.
Dilia was stunned.
She had nothing to say, because there was a precedent in history.
Back then, a noble daughter from a family in the Luo'ao Empire married the king of a kingdom in the Great Eastern Grasslands. Afterward, the entire family committed treason and joined that Grassland Kingdom. Don't think that the Luo'ao Empire was much stronger than the Grassland Kingdom.
The Great Eastern Grasslands had a total of three great kingdoms.
The people of the grasslands were inherently fierce, every one a born brave warrior. Although their population was far less than that of the neighboring Luo'ao and Rhine Empires, these three great kingdoms had fought against these two empires for so long without ever being at a disadvantage.
"Father, Lin Lei and I..." Dilia said quickly.
Dea Lane interrupted, "Dilia, you are a very intelligent child; you should understand everything. Our Lane family has accumulated over a thousand years to reach its current status. If you marry Lin Lei, His Majesty might not do anything to our family. But obviously... His Majesty's trust in our family will diminish!"
"Once trust diminishes, many of our family's children will find it much harder to advance in the military and officialdom." Dea Lane sighed. "Dilia, I hope you can consider the family."
"But Father, Lin Lei is not on the O'Brien Empire's side. He has already gone to the Chaotic Lands!" Dilia hurriedly said.
"Chaotic Lands?" Dea Lane was stunned, and her mother also looked at Dilia in surprise.
Dilia quickly explained, "Yes, Father, Lin Lei's ambitions are not in the O'Brien Empire; he wants to carve out a place in the Chaotic Lands. He will belong only to the Chaotic Lands in the future. Father... the Chaotic Lands are not enemies of our empire, are they?"
Dea was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Indeed, on the entire continent, the only empire that could be considered a rival by the Yulan Empire was the O'Brien Empire.
As for the Chaotic Lands, a chaotic region where dozens of duchies coexisted, who would consider it a rival?
"If Lin Lei truly carves out his own territory in the Chaotic Lands, then marrying him should not be a big problem," Dea Lane said slowly. These words were like heavenly music to Dilia's ears, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Dea Lane looked at Dilia and said solemnly, "My dear daughter, I must remind you... only if one day, in the eyes of the imperial family, that Lin Lei does not belong to the O'Brien Empire's side, can you be with Lin Lei. Otherwise, it is absolutely not allowed."
"Father, I understand." Dilia also loved her parents, her grandfather, grandmother, her brother, cousin, and many other relatives. She did not want to reach the point of breaking with her own family.