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Inside the once luxurious and exquisite palace hung a sad solemn atmosphere. The security of the palace was two times stricter. With every three steps, there was a post and with every five there was a sentry. The maids who were rushing by also lowered their heads, afraid of making a sound that would lead them to tragic ends.

The emperor’s chamber could no longer be called that as the ruler of the Subila Kingdom could only be called a king. He had long lost the throne of the empire when the empire was divided under the influence of the gods. Although there was a war, there was no longer any possibility of unity no matter who won.

Without tax revenue and support from other territories, the kingdom was gradually becoming financially strapped. In the past, the Subila Empire occupied nearly the entire continent of the west. It was a territory that was rich in mineral resources that could supply the consumption of the capital city.

This was just like the large cities north and south of China. With the city’s resources alone, it was impossible to cater to the demands of the population. Rather, resources needed to be drawn in from the surrounding provinces.

Without economies of scale in the medieval era, a capital of about a million people would collapse soon without support from other territories.

Although there were still millions of people in the Subila Kingdom, the capital was about to lose its title of being the biggest city on the main continent. Many people in the capital were already panicking, and poor people were already unable to eat. This city that had taken countless generations of emperors to turn into what it was today was gradually losing people from migration. After all, no one wanted to die of starvation.

Today, the title of the largest city on the main continent was undoubtedly taken by Dragon City. Bards sang that the rivers flowed with honey and milk and that the land was full of gold, resulting in it becoming a place where many races aspired to live in.

The Subila Royal Family was no longer interested in the population of the capital or the wealth of the city. Nowadays, they were more concerned with the power struggle within the palace.

“I’m sorry, Princess Andrea! No one is allowed to enter the king’s chambers without permission from His Highness Crown Prince Aldrich and the Second Prince Amos.”

In front of the former emperor’s chambers, a well-equipped knight stationed there stopped Princess Andrea.

Wearing a gorgeous palace dress, the angelic young girl gazed at the knight in front of her with innocent and somewhat sad eyes, “Am I, as the daughter of my father, also not allowed to enter?”

Princess Andrea’s reputation in the Subila Empire was extremely prominent. With her beautiful face, she had been dubbed as the Subilan Pearl and was even popular among her subjects. In the past, she was a true imperial pearl who lived a carefree life and helped the poor. She even asked for help from the emperor on behalf of the people which received a lot of praise from the general public.

The two knights guarding the door were loyalists to the first and second princes, but they were also obviously admirers of the princess. They suppressed the adoration in their eyes and said in a softer tone, “I’m really sorry Your Highness! Please forgive our disrespect. This is the order of both princes, and as knights, we have to comply.”

Seeing the two knights become uneasy, Princess Andrea smiled like a flower and said, “It’s fine. I don’t want to force you to do anything. As knights, your souls obey orders. You did not disobey orders just because of my identity, for which I should praise you.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness!”

Both knights sighed in relief and saluted Princess Andrea.

Seeing this easy-going princess, the two knights felt a slight regret at their love.

There was a power struggle for the throne within the royal family. Even blood relatives would raise their knives to backstab each other. Even if the Subila Empire is split into many kingdoms, the Subila Kingdom with the richest land was still the strongest country in the west of the San Soliel Mountains. Neither the first prince nor the second prince was willing to give up the throne to the other.

Nowadays, the King of Subila was very sick and no one knew when he would die. The two princes had joined forces to put their father under house arrest and prevent anyone from meeting him, including their little sister.

This was a mutual tacit agreement. While their father was ill, they would keep fighting each other. On the day their father died, they would determine the victor and the loser. The victor would gain everything and the loser would lose everything.

As for the princess’ fate, even the two knights predicted that she would become a political tool no matter who won. The princess’ beauty was known throughout the country, making her the perfect bargaining chip to enlist powerful nobles or even military generals.

As a princess, Andrea lived a life of luxury, but now, she was just an object.

It was to the point that if the winning prince was just a bit more headstrong, he would probably take his beautiful sister for himself and use her as a plaything to vent his frustration.

No matter how you look at it, Princess Andrea’s end would not be good.

Andrea curtsied and then left the place in a hurry. No one saw the innocent eyes of the princess become gloomy when she turned around. There was even a hint of twisted madness.

But soon, she turned back to the gentle and considerate princess everyone knew her as.

“Lord Derek!”

In front of Princess Andrea is none other than the chief of guards, the powerful high-ranking legendary warrior, Derek.

He had visited Dragon City together with Andrea when the situation was not so chaotic.

“Your Highness.”

The chief of guards saluted.

“Lord Derek, you are the head of father’s guards. Why are you here instead of protecting father?”

Andrea’s smile was sweet, but her tone was full of mockery.

Derek let out a bitter smile and said helplessly, “Your Highness, I know what you want to say, but this is a royal family matter. Even if His Majesty is still willful now, he will definitely not allow me to get involved in it.”

Andrea fell silent. She knew that Derek was right as his father was such a person.

Even the princess knew that her father would rather die in the hands of his own son in the palace than let an outsider like Derek get involved in the power struggle of the royal family. This was indeed a stance that a qualified emperor needed to have.