I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

"Do you know how much your father sacrificed for you, and how deep his love for you was? The scabbard of the Holy Sword should have been in the hands of successive emperors of the empire, but when he first ascended the throne, he buried it directly within you, a young child."

"If it weren't for the holy sword scabbard within your body, its immortality that can heal wounds, soothe pain, and protect its host from all disasters and calamities...with your stubborn and stubborn temper, how could you have repeatedly survived death in the night world? Do you really think it's just luck?"

"With your reckless and reckless fighting style, you've put yourself in mortal danger countless times. If it weren't for the protection of the holy sword's scabbard, you would have died countless times already!"

"And now that you hold the scabbard of the Holy Sword, you must shoulder the corresponding responsibilities and become the Empress of the Empire."

Faced with the noble lady's suddenly raised tone, Hiltina remained silent for a moment.

"I only recently learned this... but you're right. Without that scabbard, I might have long since perished in the night world, becoming a star engraved on the Starry Obelisk."

She paused for a moment and said, "In that case, let father remove the scabbard of the holy sword from my body and give it to a more suitable person, such as Ophelia..."

"I swear by the name of Ingult, the Ranger family, that I will bear all risks during the relic transplant surgery. Even if I die on the operating table, I will have no complaints."

"You know very well that your father would never do this! He watched your mother die once before his eyes, and there's no way he'd watch his daughter die because of him again!"

The noblewoman's voice was tinged with pain. She looked at the girl in front of her and said, "I finally understand. For all these years, you have had no feelings for me at all! You have never truly considered me your mother, not even a replacement for her!"

"No, if I didn't have feelings for you, I wouldn't be here now."

Ingrid's voice was calm, like the evening breeze blowing through the academy in the afterglow of the setting sun:

"I was only four or five when my mother died. How could I possibly remember so much at that age? To this day, all I remember of her is her back. I can't even remember her face clearly anymore."

"And I also know that you treat me very well. Although we're stepmothers, you're completely different from those evil stepmothers in fairy tales... You truly treat me like your own child and take care of me."

"In fact, many times, you would rather let Ophelia suffer than treat me badly."

So, the one who is talking to Xiltina at this moment is her stepmother?

That is, the biological mother of the second princess Ophelia and the current queen of the Granville Empire?

Rast's mind couldn't help but move slightly.

"If that's the case, why are you still treating me like this?!"

The screams pierced the tranquility of the academy under the setting sun, and even the sound of a pin drop became clearly audible.

"Because of the ideals of a so-called partner of justice that person left behind? That so-called 'Ranger' creed?"

The lady raised her voice again: "That is clearly a fake, something borrowed from someone else!"

"That's not your true opinion at all. It's just hypocritical self-satisfaction! She's been dead for so many years!"

"Hiltina, why do you always cling to something left behind by a dead person?"

Before she finished speaking, the noble lady seemed to regret it. She trembled and said, "I'm sorry, Hiltina, I didn't mean to say that about your mother. I just said something out of turn..."

"I understand. You don't have to blame yourself for what you said in anger—"

Hiltina's tone remained calm, without causing any disturbance. "As for what you just said, it's actually not wrong—"

"Perhaps that's true. False righteousness, sanctity, meaningless hypocrisy born out of self-satisfaction and self-indulgence... But this is my justice. If one day I violate this justice, then Hiltina Ingult will cease to exist."

"As a princess, before everything else—" Hiltina's words were like a rock in a raging wind, unwavering.

“I am myself first.”

The starry university fell into a long silence under the setting sun.

The noble lady remained silent, while Hiltina remained firm, leading to a long stalemate.

"Perhaps I was being overly sentimental when I came to talk to you this time."

After a long moment, the noble lady sighed softly, "Your father had already suggested another solution, one that would allow you to lose your edge and learn to compromise."

Hiltina remained silent.

"Actually, I came to Star University this time not only to visit you, Hiltina, but also to see the person your father mentioned."

"It's just that he doesn't seem to be in the academy, so it was a wasted trip."

The woman stood up and left, leaving only her last words that faded away and disappeared into the sunset.

"Your father said that the new student named Rust is your only weakness and the only person you're willing to compromise for."

"If the royal family arranges for him to marry you... then after you get married, one day, you'll lose your edge because of him, and put aside your stubbornness and aggressiveness—"

"Then, become a qualified heir to the throne, the future empress of the empire."

....................................

PS: I felt a little dizzy during class, so the update was a little late. I will try to make up for it in the next few days.

Chapter 189: How Much Can a Person Pay for Justice? (Two-in-One)

"I married...Last?"

Listening to her stepmother's words, Hiltina's voice paused, and the calm tone she had previously maintained disappeared.

"Wait...why do you know him?"

"Hiltina, do you really think that we parents are hands-off and indifferent to your affairs?"

"No matter how much you tried to cut ties with the empire and the royal family in the past, we only have two daughters, you and Ophelia. You have the blood of the Granville Empire flowing in your body, and this is a fact that can never be denied."

The lady stopped and turned to look at her stepdaughter in front of her.

"I knew that little fellow named Rust very early, as early as when he first started school."

"But I didn't really start paying attention to him until a few months later—after your sister took the initiative to go to the Arcana Tower and caused quite a stir."

The noble lady paused for a moment before speaking again, "Ophelia thought she had hidden it from us. She did it without anyone noticing, sneaking off to the Mystery Tower to test us."

"But she's never really considered it. Her father is the emperor of the empire, and half of the ownership of the Arcana Tower ultimately belongs to the empire... What could possibly be hidden from her father within the empire?"

The lady smiled and said, "Both of my daughters are showing extraordinary interest in a member of the opposite sex."

"If we still know nothing about that person, then we are unfit parents."

"It's normal for you and your father to pay attention to Rast..."

Hiltina was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"With his abilities and the earth-shaking deeds he has accomplished in the night world—even if he has nothing to do with me, I believe he will definitely come into your and father's sight."

"It's just that you mentioned earlier, the engagement..."

"This was also your father's idea, Little Tina."

The noble lady smiled again and said, "Hiltina, you and I are different from the other noble girls in the imperial capital."

"Those great nobles often use their daughters as tools for political marriages for the purpose of exchanging interests or forming alliances."

"Even myself, I married your father because my family had invested in him when he was still a prince. I know that from the beginning to the end, His Majesty Aaron's true love was your biological mother, Cecilia."

"Although, I don't regret it."

The noble lady looked at Hiltina and said, "But you are different, little Tina."

"You are our daughter. According to your father, no one in the Western Continent is worthy of marrying you."

"And our royal family doesn't need to rely on marrying off our daughters for political marriages in exchange for so-called benefits or to form alliances with other noble families or countries."

"No one in this world can force you. You just need to choose your own partner according to your own wishes."

"But as the future empress of the empire, you will eventually have to get married... and Rast is a very good candidate, even the only choice, isn't he? At least you don't dislike him."

"He is the only person in all these years who has been able to enter your heart and truly gain your approval, little Tina."

"To be honest, if we hadn't found that young man, your father and I would have been worried that with your stubborn temper, the royal bloodline might have died out in your generation."

The noble lady looked at the silent Hiltina before her and spoke again.

"Also, as your father would say, this is also a way to make you, little Tina, less stubborn."

"The reason you've developed such a stubborn and obstinate temper, a stubborn refusal to give up until you hit a wall... is because you've made your mother's ideal of the Ranger your entire life, and never considered your own happiness."

"And if you marry Luster, even after you have children, you will have concerns in your heart."

"You will have your own happiness, and this bond and concern, this attachment to happiness and life, will force you to learn to cherish yourself and learn to be selfish when necessary—"

"I will no longer be so willful as before, drowning myself in the pursuit of my ideals without hesitation."

Hiltina was silent for a long time before she spoke again, "No matter what, I don't want you and father to influence Rast because of my personal affairs, or even use imperial power to force him."

"I definitely won't force him with imperial power. He now belongs to Star University, and Star University has no affiliation with the Empire."

The lady shook her head.

"Besides, he has a very good relationship with that snow ferret, and the old president of Star University is such a protective person. The imperial power has no influence on that little guy at all."

"but--"

"What if it wasn't forced, but that little fellow named Rust voluntarily became our son-in-law?"

"Then by then, little Tina... you shouldn't have any other reasons to object, right?"

The lady's voice paused for a moment.

"These are just some of your father's superficial ideas at the moment. We still need to investigate further."

"In a few days, your father may personally invite Rast to the palace to discuss the feasibility of your engagement."

……

Knock, knock, knock——

The sound of high heels stepping on the ground gradually faded away, which also symbolized that Xiltina's stepmother, the queen of the Granville Empire, was gradually walking away and leaving the dormitory area of ​​Star University.

After making sure that the other party had completely left, Last crossed the last section of the path and arrived at the dormitory door.

In the courtyard outside the door, the figure of the girl with the rapier was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, still a little dazed.

After hearing the footsteps of Rast's arrival, her slender figure subconsciously tensed up.

Only after she settled her eyes and confirmed that the person coming was Rast, did Hiltina slowly relax her alert posture and return to a relaxed state.

"I didn't expect you to come back at this time. I've made a fool of myself by showing you this."

Hiltina smiled bitterly.

"It's understandable. After all, they are the imperial family. They always have to consider more than ordinary people."

Last smiled and said, "Honestly, compared to the dramas of other royal families, your family's situation, Hiltina, is much better."

"There's no life-and-death struggle among nine princes for the throne, and even less of a loving father and filial son..."

"Honestly speaking, if I were born into a family full of intrigue and severing family ties, I might have felt much more relaxed."

"Anyway, I just need to cut off everything. Whoever stands in my way will be killed and that's it."

Hiltina's figure gradually relaxed. "I know that although she is my stepmother, she truly treats me like her own daughter."

"Even during the argument just now, they were actually thinking about me from the bottom of their hearts and wanted to do what was best for me."

"But precisely because of this, I couldn't let go, and it only added to my meaningless entanglements... But I know I will never agree with my father's philosophy, just as he will never agree with mine."

"Last..."

Her voice paused: "Can I ask you a question?"

"what is the problem?"

"Laster, you said..."

There was a rare hint of confusion in Hiltina's beautiful light brown eyes.

"How much can a person pay for justice?"

The evening breeze blowing through the courtyard of Starry University blew away the questions raised by Hiltina.

Then, Hiltina saw that Rast's movements paused slightly.

The black-haired boy stood in the center of the courtyard, in the pale golden afterglow of the setting sun, his outline clear and deep, like a stone sculpture.

A moment later, Hiltina heard a decisive answer without the slightest hesitation.

"My answer is—"

"Everything I have."

……

When Last returned to his single-family student dormitory, finished his simple pre-prepared dinner heated in the microwave, and washed up, it was already late at night.