The black ceremonial carriage drove along the mountain road.
Rain pattered against the roof.
Inside the compartment the two sisters sat side by side, with only faint breathing and the sound of turning pages.
Claire, disguised as Flora, leaned against the window reading a book.
The golden wig hanging over her forehead blocked her eyes.
Phine turned sideways to look at her, as if her younger sister were the book and she were reading with complete concentration.
The swaying coal lamps along the mountain road and Phine’s gaze left Claire restless.
She let out a light sigh and closed the book in her hands.
“Did I disturb your reading?” Phine asked softly.
“No, Elder Sister. I just finished it,” Claire said, doing her best to imitate Flora’s tone.
Phine smiled silently, her gaze still resting on Claire, a faint, almost imperceptible scrutiny in her eyes.
Phine looked out the window. “You should pay more attention to those people you are supporting.”
Flora had indeed mentioned that she had supported some rising entrepreneurs and bankers in the various duchies under the royal domain.
“…Does Elder Sister think there is a problem with my followers?”
Phine turned her head slightly.
“They are commoners in the end. The theory of human rights that Christine preached has taken root and sprouted in the Southern Continent in recent years. The contradiction between commoners and nobles is gradually becoming irreconcilable. Your followers are relying on your support to become opinion leaders among the commoners. Some of them are already setting their sights on armaments.”
Claire nodded slightly, trying hard to keep her expression calm.
“Elder Sister is right. I will be careful.”
Suddenly Phine reached out and gently ruffled Claire’s hair, the motion carrying a hint of doting affection.
Claire’s body stiffened slightly.
Fortunately the wig was firmly made and did not give anything away.
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened, a trace of panic that was hard to detect flashing through her eyes, afraid Phine would notice something amiss.
“Flora, you are a clever child, but remember that only wings under your control can help you fly. I do not want to see Father Emperor’s tragedy happen again. You are my last remaining family.”
After a brief silence, Phine’s expression grew grave. “Speaking of that tragedy… I have discovered some other circumstances.”
Claire’s face changed in an instant.
Her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.
“I always believed the people of the Papal State were the instigators, but I have found nothing in these years of investigation. On someone else’s advice I changed direction, and sure enough I found remnants of necromancy in the remains of those Hound Knights. The mastermind behind the scenes is someone else.”
Claire suddenly raised her head.
Even the blue contact lenses could not suppress the killing intent in those red pupils.
Her voice trembled slightly. “No matter who they are, I will kill them!”
Phine glanced at her, shook her head lightly, and reached out again to ruffle her hair, the motion carrying a soothing meaning.
“Killing is my duty. For the sake of this country, those who should be killed and those who should not, I will kill them for you. Please do not speak lightly of slaughter. Your hands should remain clean…”
A sharp mechanical screech suddenly rang out outside the carriage.
Claire looked out the window.
The place they were in was the bottom of a rift valley.
The rift valley was filled with the patter of rain.
The mountainous area on the outskirts of Paris West was full of such rift valleys, running parallel to one another.
Seen from high above they looked like traces plowed into the earth by a god with an iron plow.
Faint lights flickered in the depths of the rift valley.
Dense white steam surged upward from within it.
On such a cold rainy night, a high-heat reaction like this appearing at the bottom of a rift valley had only two explanations: either there was an active volcano at the bottom, or there was a massive artificial heat source.
They had arrived.
This was the testing ground Robert Normandy had built to receive the Steam Armor.
Layer after layer of barbed-wire gates opened in sequence.
Finally the ceremonial carriage stopped on an empty terrace.
Claire followed Phine out of the carriage.
Knights in black military uniforms held black umbrellas over their heads.
Robert and Anne were already waiting in the rain.
His hair was gray, his goatee curled.
Claire froze.
She had never imagined that the old fox who had usurped a nation would be a stooped old man.
Robert straightened the formal attire on his body, walked up to Phine, and gave a slight bow.
“It is a great honor to meet Your Highness Phine.”
“Are all my knights here?” Phine asked.
“Your troops have already taken over this place,” Robert answered respectfully.
In front of the testing ground gate, two iron-armored giants over four meters tall stood like towering mountain peaks.
Steam rose in wisps from the gaps all over their bodies.
Raindrops gathered into streams on their broad shoulder armor, then poured down like waterfalls.
Claire had done her homework in advance.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and at a glance she recognized the two knights’ codenames—Horned Violet and Pansy.
The features of these two heavy knights were far too obvious.
Their builds were almost twice those of the other armors, and both were equipped with tower shields forged of anti-magic alloy and long spears cast of refined steel.
They played the role of personal guards in Phine’s ranks.
As long as those two shields stood in front of the other knights, they formed an impregnable steel city wall.
The knights of the Order of the Hundred Flowers cleared out the Carolingian personnel on the grounds of secrecy.
Robert and Anne were not waiting in the rain out of eagerness either, but because Horned Violet and Pansy at the gate obeyed only Phine’s orders.
After seeing Phine’s face, the two Steam Knights mechanically raised their arms, saluted her, then slowly stepped aside.
Accompanied by a muffled rumble, the heavy gate slowly opened.
The factory area was built against one corner of the rift valley.
Between the hollowed-out mountain bodies stood a giant furnace.
A coal feeder ten meters high slowly turned, pouring tons of coal continuously into the furnace.
The instant the valves opened, several columns of ghostly blue fire sprayed fiercely from the fire-eyes like a demon’s breath.
Silvery-red liquid rolled and burst violently inside the furnace, as if it were an erupting volcano.
Claire could not help being startled.
A furnace of this scale was enough to smelt the highest-grade alloys.
In war, it would undoubtedly become a cradle of weapons and armor.
An open circular space had been left in the center of the factory area.
Layer upon layer of steel platforms stood at the heights.
The ground was paved with tough alloy plates that glittered with a cold metallic luster under the wash of rain.
The technicians accompanying the knight order bustled back and forth, conducting the final tests.
As they opened and closed the electric switches, blue-violet electric sparks flashed repeatedly between the cables, briefly illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Robert’s face was wreathed in smiles. “Everything has been built according to the plan you gave me.”
Phine nodded slightly, her expression indifferent.
“Well done. This place is already little different from the facilities at Aleppo Fortress. Hand your expense accounts to my accountant. I will first advance the funds from the knight order. If it is not enough I will apply to the imperial capital.”
A trace of cunning flashed through Robert’s eyes.
He leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“To receive the gift of Steam Armor is our nation’s honor. Building a matching residence for it is our duty. How could we let Your Highness spend money… It is just that a factory of such grand scale and complete facilities would truly be a pity if it were left idle.”
In his words he skillfully tossed out his intention.
Phine naturally understood what this old fox meant.
What he wanted was to use this factory to manufacture Steam Armor that belonged to him.
Phine looked straight ahead and did not look at him at all, only saying mildly, “Of course it will not be wasted. Carolingia will be the forward station against the Northern Continent in the future. This place will become the garrison of the knights under my command.”
“If Your Highness could graciously permit me to participate in the casting of Steam Armor and grant a little authority and technology, then Carolingia will surely become Your Highness’s most solid and loyal ally.”
Robert’s smile remained, but he added a few degrees of weight to his tone.
Phine knew that the old fox’s words were negotiating terms with her.
She slightly turned her head and looked at Robert. “Don’t you want to see Henry as a Steam Knight?”
Robert was stunned for a moment, then forced out a smile.
“Of course. As a father, I miss that son I am so proud of very much.”
Anne walked behind Phine and Robert, hearing their conversation perfectly clearly.
Her brows furrowed slightly, a trace of impatience that was hard to detect flashing through her eyes.
The group advanced to the edge of the open space.
Phine suddenly stopped walking, and the others stopped with her.
Phine slowly turned around.
“King Robert, you said you wish to become my ally… Then next I will reveal to you the empire’s deepest secret.”
Robert understood at once, likewise turned, looked at Anne, and said, “Anne, please take Her Highness Flora to the rest room to rest.”
Anne was unwilling, but she knew she could not disobey at this moment and could only salute and agree.
Claire’s and Anne’s gazes briefly met.
They gave each other a slight nod.
Then they left under the knights’ escort.
Among the knights, only Phine’s adjutant, Jeanne Canossa, remained.
Phine nodded to Jeanne.
Jeanne then turned and pushed a heavy wooden crate out of the darkness.
She drew a sharp folding knife from her waist and pried off the slats outside the crate one by one.
With the last slat falling away, the thing inside was finally exposed.
It was a red coffin.
Its red was as brilliant as a woman’s dripping rouge.
Angels cast of gold spread gorgeous wings to seal the four corners of the coffin.
The appearance of the coffin left Robert stunned.
Even with his rich experience, he did not understand why this thing had appeared here at this moment.
Jeanne expressionlessly lifted a heavy iron crowbar.
The crowbar seemed as light as a goose feather in her hands.
She carefully pulled out the long nails sealing the coffin one after another.
Finally the coffin lid was lifted lightly.
Inside was a girl’s corpse, looking about thirteen or fourteen years old.
A faint flush actually still remained on the girl’s face.
That flush was like the afterglow of sunset, as if warm blood were still flowing beneath the skin.
She did not look like a dead person at all, but like a sleeping girl who might wake at any moment.
Jeanne took a silver syringe filled with blood from a box.
She slowly inserted the long needle into the girl’s chest.
As she slowly pushed the plunger, black blood slowly injected into the girl’s heart.
In an instant a faint sound suddenly arose in the girl’s chest.
That sound was the sound of blood resuming its flow in the heart.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Those eyes, however, held a strangeness that did not match her age.
Her gaze slowly swept over everyone and finally stopped on Phine.
The girl in the coffin slowly sat up.
“It has been a long time, Your Highness Phine. Good evening, everyone. I am Troilus Baal, the last vampire of the Baal bloodline, and also… the designer of Steam Armor.”
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