Becoming a wet nurse is not the end of the story.

"I, I'm not staying home, it's just that I have a lot of medicines that need to be prepared."

Held in the other's arms, feeling the stimulation of their fingertips tracing her face, her heart raced faster and faster. She stammered as her cheeks grew increasingly hot against their skin.

"Xueyin, get ready. We'll definitely be attending the party hosted by the beastmen delegation tonight."

Upon hearing that she would be attending the party, Lin Xueyin was so startled that she tried to jump up, but was forcefully held back in his arms. Although his attributes were much higher, he was not an enemy, so how could she dare to struggle free with all her might?

“Irabell, I don’t want to go, it’s too much trouble there.”

“What’s the trouble? You ate very well last time you went.” Irabel wasn’t so easy to talk to in this regard, at least she was very unhappy about Lin Xueyin’s early departure last time.

She actually abandoned me and ran away secretly, making me search for her inside for ages.

"No way! There are people everywhere asking me to dance, but I can't. Besides... and..."

"What else?" Teasing the girl, whose face was already flushed, Irabel rarely showed a smile.

"Wouldn't dancing with them just be letting them take advantage of you?"

Lin Xueyin, with her eyes closed as if in self-loathing, spoke her thoughts and heard a soft laugh above her head. Although she wanted to stand up, she felt the other person's hands around her waist tighten even more.

"Little girl, how about we dance tonight?"

Seeing Lin Xueyin's wide, almond-shaped eyes, Irabel affectionately hugged her again. Today was probably the day she had the most expressions on her face.

As Lin Xueyin was being taken away by Princess Irabel, Kaliel and Kashael whispered to each other.

"Do you think the princess might be thinking of having a lesbian relationship with Xueyin? Look at how doting she is, she's clearly looking at her lover with those eyes."

"Little sister, have you been reading too many novels? You should read more martial arts books when you have time. Don't just read those novels all the time, or you'll be led astray."

Kaliel gave her younger sister a hard tap on the head and looked in the direction the two had left with some worry. That was a princess, an imperial princess. A lesbian relationship like that probably wouldn't be accepted by those nobles.

Moreover, those nobles certainly wouldn't want the royal family to grow stronger again, especially a powerful priest and alchemist, who would be even less willing to participate in the royal family in that capacity.

"Hmph, my sister always bullies me. But if Princess Irabelle really gets together with Yukine-nee, will she ignore us?"

Kashar was also conflicted, mistakenly believing that her older sister was worried that Lin Xueyin might really be taken away by Princess Irabel and then ignore her and the others.

"You're overthinking it, girl. Let's focus on what we need to do. By the way, of those three people who tried to assassinate Sister Xueyin, we killed one, but we still haven't found out who the other two are?"

"No, it's strange. Those two people seem to have vanished into thin air, completely disappearing without a trace." She touched her cherry lips with her hand, seemingly completely baffled by the situation. Logically, they should have been found long ago, so why have they been missing for so long?

"I suspect that the mastermind has either already silenced the people, or that their power is so great that those people have no way to investigate."

"Sister, you mean..." Seeing Kaliel nod, her heart sank, and worry overflowed from her eyes.

Volume Two, The Academy: Chapter Forty-One, Court Deliberations

As a baron, Lin Xueyin was once again brought into the court. All the officials looked at this beautiful and charming woman, and it was no wonder that so many noblemen were racking their brains to pursue her.

From ability to appearance, although his behavior was somewhat inappropriate, those are things that can be cultivated later in life, and therefore would not be valued by these selfish nobles.

Of course, some stubborn nobles were very dissatisfied with Lin Xueyin, a baron who had entered the profession halfway through his career, especially after seeing her very impolite details.

"The main reason I've brought you here today is that His Highness the Beastman prince wishes to continue the previous agreement with our empire, that neither side will wage war in the coming years."

"Your Majesty, this is a good thing. Our two sides have been at war for many years. Basically, every year at the end of the year, they would launch a major attack on us. If we can avoid fighting for a few years, our empire can recover some of its strength."

A nobleman quickly stepped forward and agreed with the proposal the king had mentioned, but King Edward, sitting on his throne, looked at his son, Ikux, without giving a definite answer.

Having been glanced at, Ikux stepped forward knowingly. He first scanned the surrounding nobles, taking in the expressions on their faces, before continuing.

“Father, I don’t think the beastmen would make a peace agreement with us without a reason, much less without any demands. I want to know what conditions they have put forward so that I can determine if it is worth it.”

Smiling and nodding, King Edward was clearly very satisfied with what his son had said, and then continued, "They demand that we cede all fifteen cities near Sunset Pass to them, and also demand that we provide them with five million tons of grain and enough weapons to arm their one hundred thousand soldiers every year."

One sentence caused an uproar in the court, as the entire human race's nobles found this outrageous demand unacceptable.

“Father, I feel that the Orcs have no sincerity in negotiating peace. Their conditions are just to appease us.” Ikux’s face turned solemn after hearing the other party’s conditions. He was even more disgusted by the Orcs’ behavior.

To expect peace through mere demands is utterly absurd. Even Lin Xueyin, who had never been involved in politics, knew that such a request would never be granted.

As expected, no one dared to agree to the conditions during the entire court meeting, and no one even dared to advocate for them. In the end, His Majesty the Emperor overruled the objections and ordered the beastmen's delegation to be brought up.

The first one to enter, and the most conspicuous, was a male orc with a bruised face and a broken fang at the corner of his lip. His fierce face became even more ferocious after seeing Lin Xueyin.

He was gently pulled by his subordinates, which brought him back to his senses. He returned to his place, still looking arrogantly at the ruler of the country, without making the slightest gesture of respect.

"How dare you! You dare not even bow before His Majesty!"

"Greetings? What is there about your king that makes me bow? We beastmen only bow to the strong. He? He is not qualified."

The mocking tone conveyed contempt for the entire human empire. What was there to respect about a weak nation that had been defeated by their own country and could only defend behind Sunset Pass?

"Tch, still so arrogant. I knew I should have punched him a few more times back then to teach him a lesson."

Just as the nobles were furious but unable to vent their anger, a light and melodious voice rang out in the court. Although somewhat vulgar, it ignited the atmosphere that had reached freezing point.

"Lin Xueyin, you..."

"What did I do wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Lin Xueyin looked innocently at the orc pointing at her with a thick finger, even raising her eyebrows as if to provoke him.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to punish this sinner who has been disrespectful to our prince."

An orc who hadn't participated in yesterday's martial arts sparring saw his prince being humiliated by a little girl and quickly spoke up, hoping to punish the rude girl, but he received no response from her.

Instead, the girl continued, "What, your injury from yesterday has healed, and you've forgotten the pain?"

"Lin Xueyin, if you're so capable, let's take up arms and have a real fight. I want to see if you can still be so stubborn then."

"My mouth is hard? I think my fists are harder."

The orcs, unaware of what had happened yesterday, kept quiet about it to save face for the prince, leaving them completely clueless about the grudge between their prince and the girl.

"Hmph, besides using underhanded tricks, what else can you do?"

"Huh? I'll also rub a human's face—no, I mean an orc's face—on the ground, and rub it again." He smiled as he looked at the orc prince, whose face had already changed color.

"Don't you know that a fight is decided by fists and weapons? No matter how much you talk, it only proves your cowardice."

These were the words his orc warrior had uttered after injuring the human student, and now this damned woman had sent them back to him verbatim. Nadakors was so angry he almost vomited blood.

Enraged, he only wanted to have another good fight with this woman. "You, if you have the guts, let's pick up our weapons and have a proper fight. All you do is resort to underhanded tactics; you only earn my contempt."

"Huh? A battle is a battle. No matter where you are, the ultimate goal is to defeat your opponent and kill your enemy. Don't you understand that? Besides, didn't I defeat you fair and square? Don't you have any self-awareness?"

She gently patted her youthful face with her slender hand. "Have some self-respect. Don't use this as a butt for no reason."

At this moment, Lin Xueyin fully displayed the sharp tongue of a homebody, and with a few words, she made the beast prince's face turn ashen and his breathing rapid. This also made the surrounding guards stand on high alert, fearing that he might do something irrational in anger.

Of course, this was all wishful thinking. The beastman delegation did not consist of only him. With a little persuasion from those around him, the prince regained his senses.

"Woman, I hope to meet you on the battlefield one day, and then I will use your blood to wash away my humiliation."

"Oh. So you can't accept defeat..." Lin Xueyin looked at the other person with a mocking gaze.

"They talk about peace, yet they want to meet people on the battlefield. The Orcs' credibility is truly pitifully low."

Volume Two, The Academy: Chapter Forty-Two, Court Deliberations (Part Two)

"Lin Xueyin, don't go too far. We have indeed come with the desire for peace, but if anyone obstructs peace, we will also have swords to eliminate them."

This time, it wasn't Nadakors who spoke, but rather a well-dressed orc man. He didn't have the typical burly physique of orcs; in human eyes, he was rather slender. It was hard to imagine how he stood out among the burly orc men.

"We have already put forward our conditions, and now it depends on whether your empire is willing to reach a tentative peace agreement with us. Of course, our orc race has prepared tens of thousands of warriors at Sunset Pass, ready to await your reply at any time."

"puff...."

Unable to hold back, amidst the crowd's anger, Lin Xueyin burst out laughing, drawing everyone's attention, albeit with disgust. Even Ikux, standing to the side, couldn't help but frown.

"What, is it strange? You station troops outside the pass, yet you claim to have come with peace. Indeed, peace is obtained through war. I don't know your demands, but I think if you could conquer the entire empire, you wouldn't choose to come to us for peace at this time, would you?"

He coldly surveyed the orcs, a mocking smile on his face. "The orcs have many warriors, but they lack cavalry. Wolf riders are strong, but they cannot be organized on a large scale. On the contrary, our empire's cavalry is numerous."

Seeing Nadakors glaring at her through gritted teeth, Lin Xueyin felt no fear whatsoever. "You can't even maintain the most basic composure? You're trying to play politics here? Be careful you don't get played to death!"

"Remember, the area in front of Sunset Pass is all plains, suitable for large-scale cavalry maneuvers. If you dare to launch a large-scale attack on the city, be prepared to be counterattacked. I think tens of thousands of beastmen don't want to all perish in front of Sunset Pass."

"Hahaha, good, very good. I didn't expect there to be such talent among the human race. But even if we attack the city, what can we do?"

"You really won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Well then, I'll just say it directly. There aren't any particularly dangerous terrains between your beast race and the demon race. Back then, the demon race was preoccupied with its own internal war and naturally wouldn't have done anything to you. However..."

He sneered at these beastmen who were still oblivious to their own mortality. They were practically facing a knife to their throats, yet they were still so arrogant. Did they really think he didn't know what kind of scheme they were plotting?

"Faced with a highly likely attack from the demons, if your beastmen don't want to be wiped out, they will naturally seek other allies. The elves are peace-loving, and the Great Barrier of Kerrochin has a natural aversion to the demons. Moreover, they have no interest in that forest. The elves are peace-loving and will only live in the forest, posing no threat whatsoever."

"The human race and the demon race are separated by a hundred thousand mountains, with only a few formidable passes in between. This also makes it difficult for large forces to deploy. So, if the demon race were to wage war against other races, do you think they would attack our human race first, or your beast race first?"

In the midst of their conversation, they had already cornered their opponents, while simultaneously giving these human nobles a glimmer of hope for peace. With humans blocking their path in front and demons pressing from behind, the beastmen had now gone from being the proactive party in negotiations to the passive party.

"Hmph, do you think your human race can guarantee that you won't be invaded by the demons? Don't forget, your human empire was seized from the demons during their civil war. Won't they be the first to try and take it back?"

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm really sorry. If the demons attack the humans first, it will probably turn into a large war of attrition. This place is already a battleground on all sides. Do you think they would prioritize putting their forces into a war that cannot be ended quickly?"

Lin Xueyin engaged in a back-and-forth battle with the beastmen without showing the slightest stage fright. Instead, she left the other human nobles dumbfounded, wondering about the girl's background and why she was so knowledgeable about such matters.

"The beastmen and humans have been sworn enemies for centuries. If there were no alliance, who would ultimately benefit from the war? Do I need to explain that? The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman benefits. Moreover, this time the opponent is an old fisherman who can catch both the snipe and the clam."

"Your Majesty, at this juncture, cooperation is indeed mutually beneficial, while division is mutually harmful. Although the beastmen's demands are excessive, we can continue to negotiate. The biggest problem at present lies in the movements of the demons."

At this point, the intelligence officer stepped forward, glanced at the girl who had just been speaking eloquently, and showed a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, the Demon Clan is frequently mobilizing its troops, seemingly preparing for external warfare. However, since the Demon Clan has only recently been integrated, we cannot yet confirm who their target is."

"Minister Viko, why are you only saying this now?"

"Your Majesty, we have just received this intelligence, but we do not know how Baron Lin Xueyin obtained it."

Lord Vico glanced at the girl, but then heard her continue speaking.

"It's very simple. The demon race has just unified and should be recuperating. However, after looking at the information about the demons in the city, I found that the demon race has not experienced a major civil war in the past ten years."

"Moreover, the unification of the demon race did not result in any major battles. Instead, the current Demon King used overwhelming force to defeat many lords and thus gain their support."

At this point, the politicians instantly understood why the Demon Clan dared to mobilize their troops now. After ten years of recuperation and with the new king having just ascended the throne, although they had military strength as a background, they still needed military achievements and prestige.

Foreign war has become a foregone conclusion, but the true purpose of the opposing side remains unclear.

"As I said before, humans have the natural defenses of mountains and rivers, elves have the advantage of barriers, while the orcs have flat plains, allowing the demon army to enter their territory at any time. At that time, what will the orcs use to resist the enemy's attack?"

With lips like swords and tongues like spears, they once again pushed the beastmen's envoys to the brink of despair.

"Your Highness, Prince of the Beastmen, I don't understand why you are so confident that you can come here to negotiate a peace agreement and make such exorbitant demands. I also don't understand what kind of courage you have to injure our students here. When you can't even protect yourselves, is your honor still so important? Before your country is destroyed, I want to see how much your dignity is worth."