Afterward, they left the throne room and dived into various tasks. Else started restructuring both the imperial palace and the church while Yvonne solidified her cultivation breakthrough. In the meantime, Konrad sat within his new chambers with Verena on his lap.

　　"Now that only the two of us remain, there is no need to restrain yourself. Mourning is your right."

　　He whispered while stroking her silver hairs. Though in public, she always maintained stately elegance, Verena was by no means aloof and deeply cared for kins.h.i.+p. The loss of her father was no trivial blow. And Konrad could see that the depth of her silence mirrored the profundity of her grief.

　　"Sovereign Prince Thorwald Kva.s.s was a terrible father and an even worse husband. In his life, he only loved one woman:

　　His elder sister, the dowager, Amalia. A pity that in her eyes, only the previous emperor mattered. He could only suppress his feelings and live in frustration…until that day when in a drunken stupor, he held onto her waist and professed his love."

　　While mortal brewed alcohol had no effect on cultivators above the True Rank, many brands of cultivation beverages helpful in breakthroughs and enhancing cultivation speed existed.

　　Therefore, drunkenness wasn't uncommon among affluent cultivators.

　　Konrad and Yvonne's drinking sessions were a perfect example of that.

　　"My mother and I stumbled on the scene, a scene that plagued the remainder of her life. Although father treated her with respect and gave her due honor as his princess consort, she could never forget that sight, and soon fell into depression.

　　A depression that ultimately took her life. A Saint dying of heartache, a joke, really."

　　Verena reminisced in an emotionless tone. Most well-informed individuals knew of Thorwald's profound affection and absolute loyalty toward his sister. However, in their eyes, it was nothing more than a little brother's devotion. Never did they expect that it already stepped into that territory.

　　"But I couldn't resent him. If anything, I resented my mother for being so weak. To let her affection for a man rule and ruin her life. For that reason, I resolved to never be ruled by emotions. A cultivator's life is far too long to wallow in such a quagmire."

　　"But emotions make individuals. Without emotions, there is no existence. Only the slow pa.s.sing of identical days."

　　Konrad declared while still stroking Verena's hairs.

　　"Indeed. Afterward, the church's decree to marry me to Olrich came. And seeing in there an opportunity to both consolidate his house's power and bring himself closer toward his sister, my father didn't hesitate.