The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

Hestia turned her head and said, "Isn't this your own choice? Don't worry, I'll take care of the two you left at Crocodile Bay. After all, I haven't trained a single purple puppy yet."

Aphra's pupils shrank again. She pounced on Hestia, but her beautiful neck was locked by the collar. She could only crawl on the ground, digging her fingers into the soft ground, struggling forward bit by bit: "What have you done to them, bastard, bitch, what have you done to them? I'm going to kill you——"

"It turns out that cubs are better raised." Hestia shook her head and was about to disappear into the cave.

Seeing the door of hope about to close, Aphra's tangled reserve suddenly relaxed, and she shouted hysterically: "I promise you! I promise you anything! Give them back to me! Don't you want to know who is targeting you! Come back! Hestia! Lorraine! Herboeus! Come back to me!!"

Just when Aphra was about to lose all hope, she saw the abominable Tianlong turn around with a sly smile and said with a grin, "I told you, who really wants to be a hungry puppy?"

The princess brought the basin over and picked up a slice of apple: "Eat it."

As soon as she saw that hateful look, Aphra immediately reacted: "You're kidding me!"

Hestia didn't refute the dark elf's response. Instead, she tucked the dark elf's messy hair behind her ears and said with a smile, "Want to eat?"

Aphra shrank back, goose bumps covering her body. Fear coiled around her heart like tentacles, preventing her from immediately breaking free from the princess's touch.

She opened her mouth and let the princess feed the apple into her mouth.

At this time, Hestia said, "You are still obedient, aren't you? If it is not absolutely necessary, I don't want to peel off your skin and stew it into a pot of meat soup for the ogre's table."

Aphra trembled and whispered, "Hestia Lorraine Herboeus, my sister and brother, I beg you... to set them free."

"Call the master."

"..."

"Don't you know how to read? Let me teach you how to spell it, Lord." Hestia smiled like a teacher giving earnest instructions.

But Aphra opened her mouth, but no matter what, she found it difficult to address her old enemy in that way.

Her mind was filled with images of snow and wind, the vast white earth, the winding and undulating mountains, the difficult road, and countless enemies and monsters.

The false god issued a decree in Mengsu. He used a vicious curse to pollute the path of the dark elves, causing the myth to fall into the mortal world and the noble secret practitioners to become mortals.

Aphra had never experienced the curse that occurred two hundred years ago, but she had been constantly fleeing under the iron hoof of the empire since she was born.

Disease spread among the tribe, and the refugees were captured by the ratmen who were following them. Those dirty accomplices used fist-sized chisels to pry open the skulls of the dark elves one by one, peeled off their brains, sealed them in crystal jars filled with green solution, and took them away.

A hundred years had passed since that nightmare, and she still remembered the final scene of her mother and father leading the guards to stop the imperial butcher.

The meteor-like artillery fire flattened the pass, and the only smell in the smoke was the burnt smell of flesh and blood, nausea, horror, despair, and pain.

All kinds of messy feelings mixed together, becoming an lingering nightmare.

But now, she is facing the nightmare, but she does not have to overcome it with courage. Instead, she has to wag her tail to please, fawn and please like a shameless whore in a brothel... How can she do this?

"host……"

Aphra opened her mouth, tears already streaming down her face.

"people."

She uttered the faint syllable firmly and in almost silent sign language.

"How adorable, don't you think?" Hestia's fingers roamed over the smooth, satiny purple skin, her eyes filled with sincerity. "Look, we didn't have any conflicts originally. It was you who wanted to kill me, and I graciously forgave you... It's not the puppy's fault that she's ill-mannered. It's her fault she didn't meet a good master. Now, I will teach you a good lesson."

"Hah..." Aphra suddenly fell to the ground and vomited out all the fruit pulp in her mouth.

She felt sick. This was not just because of the handsome yet evil Heberus in front of her, but also because she herself had surrendered to her old enemy, her lifelong vengeance, which had tarnished her pride.

Even though this surrender was only a temporary compromise and was unavoidable, Aphra still felt a strong hatred for herself.

This hatred was more intense than being defiled by the princess and having the cartilage of her pointed ear pierced. It was like a deadly poison pouring into her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?" Hestia lifted Aphra's chin and said, "Call me more sincere."

Aphra stared at the princess, wanting to sear that face into her mind, to scorch it with molten lava. However, she stopped her meaningless insults and endured the humiliation. "Master..." she said, then immediately continued, "My sister and brother..."

"Shh, no discussing irrelevant matters. Only if you perform well will I give you a small reward. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Master..."

"Now, tell me, what were you trying to say before...Who was targeting me?"

Aphra took a deep breath, knowing that this was her only remaining bargaining chip.

She pondered quickly in her mind, then slowly said, "Aren't you curious about why the Roland siblings were able to accurately track down your whereabouts and carry out the assassination...hiss..."

Squeeze the ripe and tender red grapes to extract the water.

Aphra was immediately filled with shame and anger, glaring at the princess and gnashing her teeth secretly.

"what is it call?"

"Owner……"

"Go on. Tell me, who else do you have to help you?"

"I don't know, s ...

"If I let you go, wouldn't that be like letting a tiger go back into the mountains?" How could Hestia not understand that this dark elf was trying every possible way to regain his freedom so that he could go to the back mountain to dig out the jade token that would restore his strength.

However, the princess wanted to make things difficult for her and put obstacles in her way, so that she would understand that only things that are hard to come by will be cherished after they are obtained.

"My master is the Imperial Princess and a high knight of the Iron Cross. Could it be that she lacks the secret technique to control her slaves?"

Aphra's tone was still tinged with disdain. The Empire might not have the secret art of enslaving people, but secret contracts that used laws to restrict slaves were everywhere.

It can be said that the Iron Cross was built under such layers of loyalty restrictions.

Therefore, "letting the tiger go back to the mountains" is basically a false proposition. Once you fall into the hands of the empire, the only way out is either suicide or surrender. Otherwise, you will fall into the abyss of being unable to live or die.

But there are also heretics who have escaped the enslavement of the Empire. Especially now that the tower is leaning, the effectiveness of the Imperial Law has been greatly weakened.

This is also the glimmer of hope that Aphra is seeking.

Hestia lifted the dark elf's cheek and gently stroked it with her thumb. "What a clever little dog! If I want to know what role the Black Hand Guild plays behind this, I'll have to let you go, right?"

Aphra said sadly to herself, "No matter where I am, I am always my master's puppy. What does my master have to worry about?"

"Alright, sign a contract with me and I'll use mystical techniques to brand you with my allegiance. After that, I'll allow you to maintain a certain degree of freedom within Cloudtop City."

"Are you really that serious? Then I can sneak away right now..." Afu was a little impatient, but when she saw the princess's half-smile, her heart turned cold again. "Your Highness, what else do you need me to do?"

As the dark elf expected, the silver dragon, with a handsome appearance but an extremely ugly heart, leaned close to her ear and blew hot air in an ambiguous and frivolous tone:

"What do you need me to say? Do you need me to say more?"

Volume 99: Bird in a Cage: . Undercurrent

From natural disasters to man-made calamities, major events happen in the empire every day.

But the major events in Yunling recently can be divided into two categories.

One is the change in the direction of the Governor's Office. The fat man sitting at the top of the cloud changed his previous greed. He not only gave Yunling's industry and commerce extremely high tax reduction treatment, but also provided low-interest franc loans to help more business owners take root. With a series of measures taken by the Governor's Office, the financial industry represented by the Bank of Lorraine flourished.

The second was the rebel uprisings that broke out in various parts of Fran. The Yunling rebels had already controlled the important trade routes between the Yunling Mountains and the Golden Plateau. However, the Yunling Military District changed its previous radical strategy and shrunk its defense line toward the coastal plains, handing over the rugged and complex mountainous areas.

"The problem with the rebels isn't that they're too powerful, but that they're too scattered," Hestia said at a salon gathering at Cloud Court Villa, chatting with two dozen Iron Army officers and officials from the Governor's Office. "Most of the rebels are roving bandits, maintaining their operations through harassment and looting. Many caravans, mines, and towns across the Empire have been plundered. The number of Imperial officials hanged by them could probably pile up like a small mountain."

"Indeed," the short-haired officer with one empty eye socket nodded. Her skin was as pale as a withered tree, with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Her voice was husky and magnetic. "Every time the military district deploys troops, it's extremely expensive. Besides guarding against rebel ambushes along the way, we also have to spend a lot of time conducting reconnaissance. The heavy logistical losses ultimately don't yield any significant results."

Another officer pulled at the centipede-like scar at the corner of his mouth, the twisted muscles stretching all the way to his ears. He retorted, "Although the cost was high, every time we killed tens of thousands of enemies, we wiped them out completely. It was all thanks to the empire's military prosperity and the general's capable command. The slight cost is worth it, isn't it?"

He looked at his colleagues around him, but they just smiled awkwardly.

There was no agreement.

Don’t they know whether it’s worth it or not?

There was no magic to annihilate the rebels, but in the process, they would conveniently razed and razed cities, plundered the civilian population, and wiped out their creditors. Depleting the empire's treasury, enriching their own pockets, and using the lives of their fellow villagers had become the norm for the Iron Army.

You and I know this, but as long as we don't admit it, not even the emperor can accuse us. Even if the imperial ministers come, they have to turn a blind eye - if we don't settle the accounts with those rebellious and unruly people, do we really want the masters of the capital to pay for it out of their own pockets?

You know the whole story, but you tell it out loud in front of the princess. Aren't you trying to fool the princess like she's a fool?

The news of the Iron Army's massacre in the city has been circulating widely recently. It seems that everyone is about to "retire from the underworld", but there is a fool who brings up the past again. He is really bringing up something that is not relevant.

Freeman Ant looked at the officer with a smile, wondering what he was thinking.

Fortunately, the princess didn't make a fuss and said, "So, rather than letting those rebels emerge one after another, it's better to let them out to cultivate for two years. Looting is one thing, governance is another. If they develop the city well, it will only take the Iron Army to trample it. If they manage poorly, it can also make the common people miss the peace under the rule of the empire."

All the officers present smiled, with bloodthirsty glints in their eyes.

They didn't know whether the imperial rule was auspicious or not. In any case, in those auspicious places, the grass on the graves was already three feet high.

"Your Highness has achieved so much at a young age. Even I am awed by his farsighted military talent." In front of his subordinates, Fuman Ant blushed and began to flatter them. But then he changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "It's just that the Imperial Parliament has launched several impeachments. The first is about the process of selling land in Yunling. They believe that the Governor-General colluded with the rebels and abused his power..." The general glanced at the fat man in the corner. Seeing that Adrian Hesse didn't express his opinion, he continued, "Secondly, in response to the Yunling Military Region's passive response to the rebellion, they proposed that I be dismissed."

"No one talks about me," Hestia said.

On the surface, she only did one thing - to promote the independence of the Franco-French monetary system and to have the Bank of Lorraine control the issuance of the franc.

However, all this was the result of her guarantee to the emperor with Lorraine's treasury. Considering Lorraine's status in the empire and Fran's already corrupt finances, the imperial high-ranking officials have not yet openly opposed the princess.

"Your Highness is indeed devoted to the country, but there are too many corrupt officials in the country, which may cause unnecessary obstacles." Freeman Ant looked at the princess, intending to listen to her opinions.

Regardless, Lorraine currently holds a slightly greater position in Yunling than Herboeus. Furthermore, the princess, before Herboeus, holds the title of Grand Duke of Lorraine, representing the Lorraine family.

If the sky falls, there is always someone taller to hold it up. And now, Her Royal Highness the Princess is standing tall and proud with the money printing machine fully operational.

"Funny, what do you think?" Hestia turned around and looked at the tall elf standing behind the sofa.

Aphra Menlo, a graceful and elegant lady, was dressed in a high-necked, long-sleeved maid's outfit that perfectly wrapped her delicate body. Her appearance had changed drastically. Not only had her bright purple skin faded to a milky white, but her iconic pointed ears had become a semi-oval outline. In the space between the pierced earlobes, a wisp of silver hair was woven into a loop.

Witnessed by the tower, Hestia used the contract to establish rules for Aphra, transforming her into a complete slave. If it weren't for the fact that the more laws, the weaker their effects, the princess would have wanted to carve every unequal treaty in the world onto the dark elf's skin.

Afterwards, Iyana lent the secret weapon "fake skin" to Aphra, allowing her to hide her dark elf appearance and follow the princess as a personal maid, appearing in various social occasions.

Although it was less than two days, the Yunling nobles already knew that Her Royal Highness had another maid in the boudoir after Iyana Xingyue and Viola Lilan.

"The Governor and the General are now His Highness's wings, so Yunling is His Highness's camp..." Aphra said.

Hestia paid attention to Fran Ant's expression, and when she saw that the young general was not behaving strangely, she signaled the purple-skinned puppy to continue.

"If I were your Highness's enemy, I would definitely start with your Highness's right-hand men, uncover their dirty laundry, and then eliminate them one by one."

"Haha, this really fits in with the narrow minds of those villains," Fran Ant said. "We, along with Her Royal Highness the Princess, are working wholeheartedly for the prosperity of the Empire, for the great cause of the Divine Emperor and His Majesty, yet those villains think we're forming a clique for personal gain!"

Aphra glanced at the general with distaste, lowered her head, and stared at the pattern of the carpet. She spoke to herself, "But who are Your Highness's enemies? The situation in the Yunling Mountains is a mess. How come, in less than a month, someone in the Imperial Parliament has been fully aware of the military district's actions and even launched an impeachment motion? During this period, Your Highness has already suffered two assassination attempts..." She paused, her voice low, "One in the lower city, shortly after Your Highness left the villa, and another inside the villa itself."

At this point, the atmosphere in the conference hall had become solemn. Several officials from the Governor's Office wiped the sweat from their faces, and even the officers held their breath.

"Someone from the Empire is colluding with the rebels? That's impossible..." Adrian Hesse was a little nervous.